hang in there you guys - drop the anchors!!

[Allan]

 Sadest thing its doing it Victorias way only just got some on Mid North Coast, very lucky i think.AllanTAKE CARE EVERYGODT YOU DONT KNOW WHATS IN THAT WATER

[Bedfordcrazy]

word is guys, the whole east coast of oz is going to cop a hiding over the next few weeks, as i write there is a massive cyclone just off the qld coast, that is due here in the next few days, and suppose to turn and head south right down the eastern seaboard. Even poor old tassie is coping it. Even though we did not get hit with water at our place, there is one thing i have learnt from this, that is have copies or originals of all your important docos, in a waterproof carry bag, and have it easy to grab when you need to run. So many people now dont exist because they lost all id docs. I have all my info on a cd and locked in a safe, but will be pulling them out and updating the info after this.

Can i give a BIG thumbs DOWN to those insurance companies that are refusing claims. Hows this for a rort, people have flood insurance ok, but because the water rose vertically and up through the floor boards, and not horizontal and gushing through the front door, their claims are refused. BS, i say a flood is a flood, last i heard 4 outa 5 claims were being refused for that reason. If it were me i would be looking for a new carrier, and monday i will be looking into my carrier and making sure their interpetation of what constitutes a flood is the same as mine.


Saw an american dodge van, custom this morning, blue in colour, from the side it looked just like a  cf1, till i swung round and saw the tail lights and badges, and that distintive snub nose.

george.

[BlackBedford]

Can i give a BIG thumbs DOWN to those insurance companies that are refusing claims.
george.

G'day
Get used to it, that is standard form for Insurance Companies... They are a pack of bastards who are there until you need them.

I used to spend over $15k/year on insurance then over a couple of years...
We had a hail storm that caused a lot of damage. We were not covered because the damaged items were not classified as "fixtures".
Our new house burnt down and we had a replacement policy on the house and contents which the Insurance company would not honour. We now live in a tin shed with furniture from yard sales.
Then we got robbed and vandalised real bad. Most items (carparts tools etc)were disallowed.
A lot of other crap happened and then my wife and I had nervous breakdowns and our personal life cover was useless because we were too sick to make the claim. Despite taking premiums from us for many years our insurance agent turned the other way instead of helping us.

So now I don't spend any money on insurance and I have worked out that despite all the loses I am ahead.
So get used to Insurance Companies screwing you over as they are there for their shareholders not their clients.

Regards

[Bedfordcrazy]

Mate sounds like you guys have had a real rough run, i am guessing you still have your beddy, not all is lost. Unfortunately the insurance industry is a very secret industry, they dont have to disclose to customers, untill you try to claim. If you dont ask they wont tell, short of getting a lawyer to go over a policy b4 you sign, you are at the mercy of them.
When i had my crash, everyone led me to believe that the insurance company would look after me and pay for what i needed , medicals, you name it, and they did, but what everyone forgot to tell me was, when i get my payout, they deduct every last cent they spent on me over the 3yrs b4 i got my payout, so by the time lawyers, insurance and god knows who else was paid, yours truely was left with just enough, just so long as i did not make a bad investment, one bad investment or another global crash and i could be broke. If they are back in their office tomorrow i will be ringing them and getting a very clear understanding of what we are covered for, or i will be going somewhere else. I may have mentioned this in another post somewhere, but just in case. When that numnut backed into mt truck just b4 xmas, i rang the insurance company to sort it out, and they told me that my excess had jumped a $100 from my original sign up, my agreed value had droppd by almost $4000 from what they agreed to, and my annual primiums had jumped by about $150 a year. And the reason, because of the millions they have had to pay out in the last few years up here for storm damage, they had to get their money from somewhere, so they reduce what they payout and increase what they take in. I told them that if this is the case i will be shopping around b4 my next renewal comes up. I will get the truck fixed then dump them, 35yrs of loyalty means nothing to these vultures. Trust me when i tell you, these qld floods wont send them broke, especially if they are knocking back 4 outa 5 claims.  mmmmmmm

george

[rossie]

Just told, to claim for flood damage a river or dam bank has to break, a shit load of rain water overflow comes under water damage. What the differance, its stuffed by water. NOW PAY UP

[Bedfordcrazy]

I just rang my insurer, to try and get some clarity on what constitutes a flood,  what a mistake, you need a degree to understand them. What i did find out was that my insurer is one of a small number that DO NOT do flood coverage, so we are not covered if we do get flooded, but we are covered for:

1. Broken pipes
2. Overflowing bath / sink
3. Rain effected - If a big wind smashes a window or lifts the roof and water comes in ?
4. I think i am covered for dry water. serious   

Now for the bad news for the rest of you home owners :

1. In the near future most if not all insurance companies are going to slowly withdrawl flood cover.
2. For those that have waterfront homes, flood coverage is or will be non existing.
3. If your insurer still has flood coverage you have to live a certain distance from a creek, river or waterway to be able to get coverage.

My insurer is sending me a printed  copy of exactly what we are covered for, and what they consider dry water & water effected. 
Sorry guys but you have to smile or go crazy. Proves one thing though:

insurers have more loopholes then a bucking bronco trying to get out of a rodeo    There goes my wifes house by the sea. 

george.

[wendyh]

yeah these insurance companies r so quick to take ur money...but when it comes to geting something out of them.... its like getting blood out of a stone    .......would really like to know what their diefinition of dry water is please keep us posted. hope this will be the begining of a big shake up in the industry, make them honest, and their polices in simple plain english for common folk to understand ! 

[Warren]

.......would really like to know what their diefinition of dry water is

Simple - it comes from DRY ICE 

Warren

[Bedfordcrazy]

Hey wendyh, yep dry water, after i spoke to them i stuck my head under the tap. Nope it was wet.   anyways i should have the printed info later this week so if posible i may scan and post the dry water thingy on here for all to read.   could they be pulling my leg ?? cant be, i dont have any.   MMMMMM
I guess the thing that shocked me talking to them , was not so much that we dont have flood coverage, but the fact that ALL insurance companies in oz are going flood free coverage in the future.
I can see why they are going flood free and not fire free, i dont agree, but here goes, i guess if a fire is raging towards you there is a good chance of redirecting it or putting it out, but with a flood coming at you as we now know, there is no hope, so in theory they are betting on a sure thing, with our bloody money.  

george.

[BlackBedford]

I can see why they are going flood free and not fire free,
george.

As per my previous posting don't be too sure that you will be covered in a fire either. I couldn't even get the Insurance company to demolish and remove the burnt out mess after my fully insured home totally burnt down. I had to hire a couple of local blokes and do it myself as it had been sitting so long that the Council threatened to fine me. I found out the hard way that a replacement policy doesn't mean replacement. The only excuse I was given was that the Insurance Company did not want to pay for the replacement of my loss. I hired a Solicitor who read my policy and said it had so many holes in it that he could see no way of legally forcing them to replace my home.
Insurance Companies... Bah Humbug.