Storm Damage Insurance Claim Process

Storm claims are the most frequently disputed insurance claims in Australia. Insurers deploy 72-hour response teams after major weather events — teams whose job is to assess and, where possible, narrow the scope of payouts. Understanding the process and building your evidence from the first hour gives you the best chance of a full settlement.

• Step 1 — Emergency make-safe: Before anything else, make your property safe and prevent further damage. Tarp damaged roofing, board up broken windows, and extract any standing water. Most policies require you to take reasonable steps to mitigate loss — failure to do so can give your insurer grounds to reduce your claim. Keep all receipts for make-safe costs; these are typically claimable.
• Step 2 — Evidence documentation before cleanup: Photograph and video every area of damage before cleaning, moving debris, or engaging tradespeople. Capture directional damage patterns (wind and rain entry points), water ingress tracks on walls and ceilings, damaged roofing, fencing, and contents. Timestamp all footage.
• Step 3 — Lodge your claim within 72 hours: Contact your insurer by phone or their online portal as soon as reasonably possible. Provide your policy number, a description of the event and initial photos. Early lodgement secures your place in the assessment queue — critical after major events when assessor availability is stretched.
• Step 4 — Insurer-appointed assessor visit: Your insurer will send a loss assessor to inspect your property. This assessor works for the insurer, not you — they are incentivised to narrow the scope of works. Prepare your own IICRC-certified scope of works documentation before this visit to counter any underscoping.
• Step 5 — Scope agreed or disputed: If your scope aligns with the insurer's assessment, works proceed. If you disagree with the insurer's scope or valuation, lodge a formal dispute through their Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) process — this is the required step before escalating to AFCA.
• Steps 6–8 — Builder/contractor appointed, works completed, final sign-off: Once the scope is agreed, restoration work is scheduled and completed. Ensure your contractor provides a completion report with final inspection sign-off before you accept settlement.

After major storm events, certain dispute categories appear repeatedly. Knowing them in advance — and building your documentation to pre-empt them — significantly improves your settlement outcome.

• Pre-existing damage: Insurers frequently attribute storm damage to pre-existing deterioration. Counter with timestamped pre-storm photos, real estate listing images, Google Street View history, and an IICRC-certified contractor scope identifying storm-specific damage patterns such as directional wind impact and wind-driven water ingress.
• Maintenance exclusion: Policies typically exclude damage arising from lack of maintenance — for example, old or cracked roof tiles that failed during a storm. Your insurer must prove the exclusion applies; it does not apply simply because a component is aged. A professional building report identifying the storm event as the proximate cause strengthens your position.
• Gradual deterioration exclusion: This exclusion applies to damage that built up over time rather than from a sudden event. If your damage is clearly storm-caused (broken tiles, structural movement, water ingress correlated with the storm event), document the sudden onset and the specific weather event date with Bureau of Meteorology data.

Our IICRC-certified contractors provide independent scope documentation prepared to the standard insurers and AFCA adjudicators rely on. This documentation may support your claim, though outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) is the external dispute resolution body for insurance disputes in Australia. It is free to use, and its determinations are binding on insurers. Understanding the escalation pathway gives you leverage even before you need to use it.

• Complete Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) first: Before lodging with AFCA, you must have raised a formal dispute with your insurer and either received their final decision or waited 30 days without resolution. Keep all written correspondence.
• Lodge within 2 years: AFCA accepts complaints lodged within 2 years of the insurer's final decision on your claim. Do not delay if you believe you have been underpaid.
• IICRC documentation in AFCA disputes: Total loss and major structural damage disputes significantly favour policyholders who provide IICRC-certified scope of works documentation. AFCA adjudicators assess whether the insurer's scope and valuation were reasonable — an independent certified scope provides the benchmark.
• Urgency provisions: AFCA has urgency provisions for claimants who are displaced from their home, experiencing financial hardship, or whose property poses an ongoing safety risk. Request urgent consideration at lodgement if these apply to you.