Machans Beach flood victims hit back at insurance company over rebuilding costs

Frustrated Far North Queensland flood victims have called out an insurance provider over long delays, lowball quotes, and making it difficult to access funds for temporary accommodation after losing their homes during the disaster.

Machans Beach resident Thomas Herridge had floodwater rush through his home on December 17, leaving him, his partner and two young daughters without a livable home. For the past four months he has been locked in a battle with his insurer, Sure Insurance, to pay the costs of repairs to his home, and to secure and pay for a rental property while the repair work is carried out. Picture: Brendan Radke

Frustrated Far North Queensland flood victims have called out an insurance provider over long delays, lowball quotes, and making it difficult to access funds for temporary accommodation after losing their homes during the disaster.

Sure Insurance said it had completed 90 per cent of household assessments in the Cairns suburb of Machans Beach despite receiving more than 1800 claims since Tropical Cyclone Jasper in December.

However, just 25 per cent of those claims have been finalised so far.

The Barron River in Cairns, Far North Queensland, reached a record flood peak, with roads closed and homes flooded in the catchment area on Sunday, December 17. Flood waters lap at the Kamerunga bridge on the Western Arterial Road, and despite the bridge remaining open, road access was cut to the northern beaches of Cairns. The record flooding was caused by ex Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which made landfall on December 13. Picture: Brendan Radke

Long-term resident Thomas Herridge said he and his wife lost “everything” during the natural disaster, including both their cars and treasured personal effects.

The couple had bought the four-bedroom house with the hope of raising their two young children in the northern beaches hamlet in September 2022, Mr Herridge said.

“It was our dream home,” the young dad said.

“I got up early Sunday morning to find water coming up the backyard. I woke up my two daughters … as the water creeped up ... I started to get worried.”

Machans Beach resident, Thomas Herridge, says his family lost "everything" during the Far North flood in December.

The family fled for higher ground, staying at Mr Herridge’s brother’s nearby house.

“There were 20 people there that night and eight dogs,” he said. “We stayed there for a week and then a couple more weeks with a mate.”

Since then, the Machans Beach Community Association member said he and other residents have found Sure difficult to deal with, including when trying to find new dwellings.

“They’ve paid the rent up ‘till mid-May (for us) but didn’t cover the $4000 bond, moving costs or for pool and garden maintenance,” Mr Herridge, who has a 10-month lease on a property in Freshwater, said.

“Friends of mine were paying up to $10,000 a month for rental accommodation.

“Some are paying $950 a week to stay at a caravan park and had to get rid of their dogs.”

A six-figure difference between the estimate to rebuild their home provided by Sure and quotes sourced independently from other builders was concerning, Mr Herridge said.

“They sent a builder around to do an estimate of the costs. About a month later I got an estimate of around $170,000 to fix the house,” he said.

“To my untrained eye, there were multiple items missing (on their estimate) and it was well short of the verbal estimates from other local builders.”

Machans Beach resident Thomas Herridge says he worries for other community members struggling to negotiate their way through insurance claims. Picture: Brendan Radke

Mr Herridge said his most recent quote for repairs totalled $277,000.

In a statement, Sure Insurance founder Bradley Heath said the company had already forked out more than $25m to customers for emergency assistance, temporary

accommodation, household repairs and settlements.

“Machans Beach was significantly hard hit by the cyclone — and more so from flood

damage in comparison to other areas,” Mr Heath said.

“We are in continued empathetic discussions with our cyclone and flood affected

Dozens of Machans Beach residents are facing uncertain futures, community member Thomas Herridge says, with many home owners yet to reach a settlement or finalise a payout with their insurance provider.

Machans Beach customers to achieve the best possible household repair and

mutually acceptable settlement outcomes.”

Early payouts to customers may have unintended consequences for residents and worsen the region’s desperate housing shortage, Mr Herridge said.

“People have started work on their houses without getting their bathrooms done because they’re saying tiles are wet areas,” he said.

“Tiles aren’t meant to sit under faeces-infested water for days. Houses aren’t submarines. It’s just a slow-moving catastrophe.

“There’s a housing crisis at the moment and things are going to get worse if there are hundreds of shonky homes coming back onto the market.”

Originally published as Machans Beach flood victims hit back at insurance company over rebuilding costs