Lismore: Federal inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 floods hears victims still waiting for help more than two years on

Residents are still waiting for insurance claims to be resolved more than two years after record flooding smashed northern NSW. One frustrated victim labelled the industry a “scam”.

East Lismore flood victim Kate Olivieri slammed the insurance industry. She told the committee she is still in the lurch after more than two years.

Northern Rivers residents are still waiting for insurance claims to be resolved more than two years after record flooding smashed northern NSW.

Parliamentary committee chair Daniel Mulino described a Lismore meeting, part of a federal inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 floods claims, as “very concerning” – while one frustrated resident left in the lurch described the industry as a “scam”

Committee Chair Daniel Mulino.

The committee is due to report on the issue by September 30 and members of the public have been called to make submissions.

During the daylong hearing involving five northern NSW councils, including Lismore City, business representatives, flood victims, legal representatives and community leaders shared experiences.

A man throws out damaged items at Lismore following the 2022 disaster. The Northern Rivers is still trying to recover from the floods more than two years later. Picture: Dan Peled/Getty Images

Dr Mulino said it was clear: “There are a number of claims still to be resolved more than two years after the fact.”

“We heard of a number of people who felt like they were being bounced around for month after month,” he said.

“We even heard about people who felt that without their consent their property is being entered into and valuable parts of their house were being taken away.

Lismore in the floods. Picture: Bradley Richardson/Australian Defence Force /AFP

“So these are all things that we need to strengthen regulatory arrangements around.”

East Lismore resident Kate Olivieri alleged to the committee tradesmen brought in by her insurer entered her home and desecrated it two months after the floods.

“My husband and I have lost our house twice in two floods, 2017 and 2022,” she said.

“We had appropriate insurance, it was expensive and we didn’t pay for other things because we had insurance. We had it but we’re worse off.”

Page MP Kevin Hogan speaks at the event.

“We’ve always had and paid for flood insurance as part of our mortgage. Yet insurance appointed builders broke in and destroyed our house to the ceiling.

“My husband caught six men stealing our late 1800s historical doors and walls. When he confronted them and asked for ID, they didn’t give him any.

“They told him ‘Mate it’s an insurance job – take it up with your insurer’.”

Ms Olivieri told the committee they changed locks, but the men returned and pulled out more items, leaving little more than studs and bits of broken heritage timber.

“They pulled out the kitchen and the bathroom, took our stained glass double French doors – it’s unlivable,” she told the committee.

“We reported them to the police and were told it was a civil matter and they wouldn’t get involved.”

Resilient Lismore director Elly Bird.

Ms Olivieri said they wanted to work with their insurer in “good faith”, but ended up complaining to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

“This helped us get to a resolution – but the resolution did not put our house back,” she said.

The committee heard: “We’ve paid for a service to protect our home and instead it was damaged by people who were employed to protect it.”

Ms Olivieri said she believed others faced similar situations when dealing with insurers.

The couple, like many, had not fully recovered from the 2017 flood before the 2022 disaster and faced a “huge” and “ongoing” financial impact.

Ms Olivieri said the couple had the support of extended family.

Speaking to the media later in the day, Ms Olivieri would not name the insurer and said she had provided enough information publicly.

March 3, 2022 in Lismore. Picture: Bradley Richardson/Australian Defence Force /AFP

Dr Mulino said it was critical to evaluate the insurance industry’s performance after one of the biggest natural disaster in the nation’s history.

The inquiry has been considering regulatory changes to ensure the industry does “better”.

Many claims have been stalled or rejected entirely due to hydrology reports, he said.

“For a lot of policies to be affordable in areas with high flood risk, flood must be excluded,” Dr Mulino said.

He said regulation could “tighten up” to prevent claims lagging and incidents of customers having valuables stolen.

Flood victims can share their own insurance experiences with the committee online.

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