The $400,000 gap putting Alfred victims on notice

Widespread underpayments by insurance companies in the 2022 Victorian floods mean claimants should look carefully at what their insurer first offers.

Andrew HobbsWealth reporter

Updated Mar 12, 2025 – 6.57pm, first published at 4.00pm

Email LinkedIn Twitter Facebook

Subscribe to gift this article

Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.

Subscribe now

Already a subscriber?

Anyone making an insurance claim following the devastation of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred should look out for potential underpayment by their insurer.

Experience from the major flooding that hit most of Victoria in late 2022 showed the average gap between an insurance company’s first offer and the final payment was $83,000 and more than $400,000 in one case, according to data from Financial Counselling Australia.

Andrew Hobbs covers self-managed superannuation funds, financial planning, retirement and inheritance. He has been a financial journalist for more than 25 years, working previously at Bloomberg and Australian Associated Press.