C. Survey results
At the launch of the inquiry, the Committee decided that in order to allow the widest and most varied participation from affected individuals in flood-affected communities, as well as those that wanted to contribute to the inquiry without making a formal submission, that an online survey would be conducted.
The survey contained questions relating to a number of areas of interest to the Committee in identifying the trends in affected communities relevant to the terms of reference of the inquiry. A tip sheet to guide participants, including FAQs, was made available to maximise participation.
The survey was anonymous (to ensure adequate privacy protections, as well as to allow for concerned individuals to share their experience with the Committee) and asked questions of survey participants, that would vary in scope depending on previous answers, regarding:
- which flood you were affected by;
- how your insurer has communicated with you;
- the outcome of your claim;
- any complaints or disputes with insurers;
- time frames for claim resolutions;
- access to hydrology reports;
- flood mitigation measures; and
- your ability to obtain/renew insurance policies after flooding.
The survey was announced at the same time as the commencement of the inquiry and a link circulated by media release on 31 August 2023. The survey was hosted on the Committee’s website until stakeholder engagement closed for the inquiry on 31 July 2024.
Due to the nature of the survey, not all respondents were asked each question.
The Committee notes that participants self-selected, and that the results are presented in their primary format—independent statistical analysis on the data has not been conducted.
The survey recorded 657 survey responses over 67 questions
*Note – in order to protect privacy, questions that may identify individuals or their location have not been included in the survey results summary in this appendix.
Also, please note that answers have been aggregated into wholesale results, regardless of the date on which the survey was responded to. Accordingly, time-specific answers (such as ‘how long did it take your claim to be resolved?’) will incorporate answers as provided, regardless of whether they were provided on survey launch date or at close (nearly 12 months apart).
Any answers that provide an average of ratings from 1 – 5 represent a sliding scale where the lowest figure is the least satisfaction/lowest incidence/least cost, to the highest figure being the most satisfaction/highest incidence/most cost etc.
The high number of ‘other’ answers for the age demographics question was due to an accidental overlap in age brackets at the start of the survey period, that was corrected within a week, but due to the anonymous nature of the survey could not be corrected, so has been left categorised as such.
Insurers responses to 2022 major flood claims
657 responses
Figure C.1Which flood were you affected by?
Figure C.2Did you hold an insurance policy at the time of the flood event?
Figure C.3Why did you not hold an insurance policy?
Figure C.4Which insurance company is/was the policy with?
Box C.1 Sample other responses - CBA / CommInsure
- Australian Seniors
- St George Bank
- RACV
- Elders
- WFI
- CGU
- RACQ
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Figure C.5Under which insurance policy did you make a claim?
Figure C.6Why did you not make an insurance claim? (if previous answer was no claim made)
Box C.2 Sample other responses - “House was not damaged.”
- “No damage to property.”
- “House not impacted. House is well above max flood level, therefore cancelled flood cover in 2019ish after it went up 2.1k per month due to proximity to river.”
- “Garden was the affected area and not covered.”
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Figure C.7Which of the following best describes your level of cover for water damage?
Figure C.8What is your primary reason for not holding flood insurance? (if not covered)
Figure C.9Which of the following flood mitigation measures were in place before the flood?
Figure C.10Has your insurance claim been resolved?
Figure C.11How long did it take for your claim to be resolved?
Figure C.12How long have you been waiting for your claim to be resolved?
Figure C.13What was the main reason provided by your insurer for denying your claim?
Box C.3 Sample other responses - “House 6 years old and looks as new however AAMI sighted wear and tear.”
- “That the design of our house was at fault but they had happily taken premiums for years.”
- “Blamed previous owners wear and tear.”
- “Claim that mould incursion was environmental and not related to storm event, despite private professional mycology firm confirming the latter was true.”
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Figure C.14Did your insurer seek to reduce the payout amount to you?
Figure C.15What reasons did your insurer give for seeking to reduce your payout?
Box C.4 Sample other responses - “Claims that bathrooms were not affected by flood water even though our house is one storey.”
- “Said I didn’t understand insurance.”
- “Their costings of materials and labour was far less than what we had costed independently.”
- “Age of some of the contents. They also tried to reduce the amount of work, stating it wasn’t required, when it was.”
- “They wouldn’t pay for flood coverings because I only got 2 inches in house but they paid for an air conditioner and hot water service sitting on ground.”
- “It was over the special circumstance amount and said that I had to take it.”
- “Did not cover excavation, ground prep work as part of the repair requirements, fences only partially covered.”
- “House not built to code. Section of house denied was built in 1930’s.”
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Figure C.16Please rate your satisfaction with your insurer's handling of your claim.
Figure C.17Has the flood damage been repaired by your insurer?
Figure C.18After you accepted your settlement offer, how long have you been waiting for the flood damage to be repaired?
Figure C.19After you accepted your settlement offer, when did work start to repair the flood damage?
Figure C.20After repair work started, how long did it take for the repairs to be completed?
Figure C.21After you accepted your settlement offer, when did work start to repair the flood damage?
Figure C.22After repair work started, how long have you been waiting for it to be completed?
Figure C.23How would you rate your satisfaction with your insurer's choice of builder / tradesperson to manage repairs?
Figure C.24Were you aware of the property's flood risk prior to purchasing/renting the property?
Figure C.25Did the sale contract for the property include clauses that outlined flood risk?
Figure C.26Was information about flood risk accessible on your local government's website?
Figure C.27What methods has your insurer used to communicate with you about your claim?
Box C.5 Sample other responses - “Insurance companies held face to face meetings at local RSL Club 8.5 months after flood.”
- “It has not been my insurer it has been me constantly chasing them via email and phone.”
- “Initially none for months.”
- “Minimal, sporadic, inconsistent, confusing emails and calls.”
- “They only contact me after I place a call to them.”
- “Lack of timely communication as can wait 10 or more days and sometimes weeks.”
- “Only in response, abusive on calls and vague on emails.”
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Figure C.28How would you rate the communication with your insurance provider in dealing with your claim?
Figure C.29How well did your insurer communicate the role of its service providers to you? (i.e. Hydrologist, Loss Assessor, Engineer, Builder)
Figure C.30Did your insurer rely on its service providers (i.e. Hydrologist, Loss Assessor, Engineer, Builder) to communicate the progress of your claim and offers of settlement to you?
Figure C.31Select the comment that best reflects your experience communicating with your insurer.
Figure C.32Why did you have difficulties communicating with your insurer?
Box C.6 Sample other responses - “Not understanding our situation.”
- “Offers of settlement were difficult to understand.”
- “Multiple parties involved, no single point of contact.”
- “Several claims officers who did not connect with each other or check my emails.”
- “Insurance workers did not make detailed notes resulting in having to have the same conversation and resent information already sent.”
- “Forced to use call centres repeatedly with no direct contact numbers provided.”
- “Hard to get a hold of, did not communicate clearly, couldn’t provide recorded conversations in a listenable form.”
- “Anyone you spoke to was unfamiliar with the case and had to read the notes and then make a judgement. Each judgement was different.”
- “No response for over 8 months and then repeated hounding and bullying for reports done at our cost. Which the insurer knew where not needed but told us to get as support for our claim.”
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Figure C.33Did you require any assistance when communicating with your insurer?
Figure C.34Who provided you with assistance?
Box C.7 Sample other responses - “MP”
- “Flood Recovery Support Worker”
- “AFCA”
- “Hired an external claims manager”
- “Insurance advocate”
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Figure C.35Did your insurer provide information about obtaining a hydrology report to assess your flood damage?
Figure C.36Did you obtain a hydrology report as part of your flood damage assessment?
Figure C.37How easy was it for you to access the necessary information to obtain a hydrology report?
Figure C.38Were there any costs in obtaining a hydrology report?
Figure C.39How would you rate the affordability of obtaining a hydrology report?
Figure C.40Did obtaining a hydrology report help the processing of your insurance claim?
Figure C.41How long did it take for you to receive the report after the Hydrologist inspected your property?
Figure C.42If you did not agree with the first hydrology report, were you able to get another hydrology assessment?
Figure C.43Have you lodged a complaint with your insurer regarding your claim?
Figure C.44What was your complaint in relation to?
Box C.8 Sample other responses - “We complained about the poor standard of reports (both scope of works and causation reports), the loss assessors and the poor communication overall.”
- “Insurer kept using incorrect information and not providing information.”
- “Cash settlement offer lower than the actual cost of repairs.”
- “Policy disclosure statement was misleading/ambiguous.”
- “Not treating me as a vulnerable person (health, other issues) until my first complaint.”
- “Privacy issues along with inappropriate treatment and settlement.”
- “Pressure from insurer to accept unprofessional repairs.”
- “I agreed to cash settlement, insurer wanted to pay this through my mortgage holder. Nowhere in the PDS did I say this would occur.”
- “Change from insurance company conducting repairs, then revoking that and offering a payout”
- “Breach of privacy – my insurer contacted my mortgage holder – CBA – to release my mortgage staging I had accepted settlement. At no time have I have I been asked to or accepted settlement from my insurer.”
- “Access denied to speak with team members handling my case; dismissive; disrespectful communication even after disclosing my disability.”
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Figure C.45Has your complaint been resolved?
Figure C.46Please rate your satisfaction with your insurer's handling of your complaint.
Figure C.47Have you lodged an external dispute with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)?
Figure C.48Has your AFCA dispute been resolved?
Figure C.49Please rate your satisfaction with AFCA's handling of your dispute.
Figure C.50Have you obtained a new policy, or renewed an existing policy since the flood event?
Figure C.51What is the main reason for not obtaining/renewing the policy?
Box C.9 Sample other responses - “Insurance companies are too difficult to deal with and won’t provide what you pay for.”
- “Current insurer not offering a renewal to us at all.”
- “Lost confidence that we’d ever be covered if it was to happen again. Also we couldn’t get building insurance as it was going to cost $32,000.”
- “They are refusing to renew policy.”
- “House demolished. Still rebuilding, therefore nothing to re insure at this point.”
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Figure C.52What was the yearly increase to your premium?
Figure C.53What is the approximate cost of your new premium?
Figure C.54Does your new or renewed policy include flood and/or storm water run-off insurance?
Figure C.55How would you rate the affordability of your flood insurance coverage?
Figure C.56Since the flood, have you taken any actions/measures to protect your property against flooding?
Figure C.57Since the flood, what action/measures have you taken to protect your property against flooding?
Box C.10 Sample other responses - “Polished concrete flooding to enable future flood water to be hosed out.”
- “New roof.”
- “~$20k waterproofing work recommended y hydrologist and condition of RACQ to re-accept claim.”
- “Removed trees that its adjusted told us we had to remove for claim.”
- “Demolish current dwelling and elevate.”
- “We did lots of research on viable ways to avoid future flooding but all options were out of our price range. We were quoted $100,000 to raise the house but it was too expensive.”
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Figure C.58Has the cost of flood insurance coverage influenced your decision to invest in flood mitigation measures?
Figure C.59Have these mitigation measures made your flood insurance policy cheaper?
Figure C.60Have you accessed a government-funded support program to help pay for things that reduce the risk of a flood at your property?
Figure C.61How would you rate the availability of information about measures you can take that can help protect your home or business against flooding?
Figure C.62Your household income bracket
