Brisbane Floods

Spent the last 48hours at Rocklea ,one property the water came in that hard it blew the back door off,and bought everything into the house a 44 gallon drum went through the side wall,and everthing in now in the street,the Tenant came back yesterday spent about half hour and just could not face the clean-up,he rang me this afternoon i gave him 2 weeks rent back,his bond
and let him walk away from the lease,over 40 people helped me today,most i will never see again so many kind people,very proud to be Australian..
 
Perp said:
I'd be interested to see a map of Australia, showing the areas which haven't ever flooded in recorded history, and how much of the population live in those areas.
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Interesting indeed. And if you then overlay bush fires, cyclones and hailstorms we would all live in some unattractive places.

Did we mention droughts?
 
Brian, I know of the distinction between stormwater damage (damaged caused by water that falls from the sky in your immediate vicinity) and flood (water rising from a waterway), but I've not heard of this "riverine flood" issue. What else floods besides rivers? :confused:

Prep I was going on what was being put out by I believe was someone from a Insurance indistry representative.

He inicated there were 3 types of flood
1. What happened to Toowoomba which is classed as FLOOD many people are covered.
2. Rising waters from let say 50 k up a river and the waters flow and rise and flow into your house from this event, this is classed as RIVERINE FLOOD and NOT covered as this person indicated UNLESS people have asked for it.
3. Cannot remember was still recovering from Number 2 when it was told.

The best I can understand it, is Flood is fast and Riverine is slow and may take days to have an effect.

Also this person indicated each insurance company has a different determination of this just to add confussion. SUNCORP and some one mentioned RACQ offer flood but not sure about the other people will need to read the policy to find out what is classed as flood.

To me flood is flood my house gets water flowing in it, its a flood, but then again it seems my logic does not repair the house to slow raising waters.

I just wish reading an insurance policy was VERY simple not a complex of words which seem to screw you with out you knowing till later when it counts.

Brian
 
I think the term Flood will have to be watertight....some people will take class actions against the insurers so it will be interested to see what happens in the courts.

NBS said:
Brian, I know of the distinction between stormwater damage (damaged caused by water that falls from the sky in your immediate vicinity) and flood (water rising from a waterway), but I've not heard of this "riverine flood" issue. What else floods besides rivers? :confused:

Prep I was going on what was being put out by I believe was someone from a Insurance indistry representative.

He inicated there were 3 types of flood
1. What happened to Toowoomba which is classed as FLOOD many people are covered.
2. Rising waters from let say 50 k up a river and the waters flow and rise and flow into your house from this event, this is classed as RIVERINE FLOOD and NOT covered as this person indicated UNLESS people have asked for it.
3. Cannot remember was still recovering from Number 2 when it was told.

The best I can understand it, is Flood is fast and Riverine is slow and may take days to have an effect.

Also this person indicated each insurance company has a different determination of this just to add confussion. SUNCORP and some one mentioned RACQ offer flood but not sure about the other people will need to read the policy to find out what is classed as flood.

To me flood is flood my house gets water flowing in it, its a flood, but then again it seems my logic does not repair the house to slow raising waters.

I just wish reading an insurance policy was VERY simple not a complex of words which seem to screw you with out you knowing till later when it counts.

Brian
Click to expand...
 
OK, NBS, I'm with you now - I'm pretty sure it's the same distinction, just worded slightly differently.

Pretty much all insurers cover for "stormwater damage", which is what Toowoomba had; this is where rain which falls on or adjacent to your property, causes damage on its way to a waterway, ie following the lie of the land immediately after falling from the sky, usually during a storm.

"Flood", in insurance parlance, is water which comes from *below*, ie it didn't fall from the sky, or run onto your property from the adjacent uphill property, but rose *up* from a waterway into your house.

Simply: water from above - stormwater damage, water from below - flood.

If it's not raining - a lot! - when your home has the water come in, you're almost certainly going to be classified as "flood", and won't be covered, if you have a policy which, like the majority, excludes flood. The only two in QLD which cover flood, as far as I know, are Suncorp and Westpac. Edit: Flood cover is an optional extra with RACQI and probably others; I should have said the only two which cover flood under standard policies.

Homes in Toowoomba and probably much of the Lockyer Valley will be covered under stormwater provisions; most homes in Brisbane won't :(, as it wasn't even raining (to any significant degree) when the water came in.

sash, I don't think a class action would have the slightest chance of succeeding. What would be the basis?
 
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Perp said:
I don't think a class action would have the slightest chance of succeeding. What would be the basis?
Click to expand...

The basis could be around the definition of flood.

If the average Joe Blow thinks he was covered because flood has one meaning for him but the insurance company has a different meaning then barristers are going to be all over this interpretation.

The only thing preventing a class action suit will be if these insurance policies have a section (like Suncorp does) in the fine print which says "What you are NOT covered for" which sets out exactly that flooding is not covered. Having not seen the fine print of other companies I don't know.

I remember ringing around for insurance when we arrived in QLD. When I asked about flood insurance I started getting very confused. One company even said "It's when your hot water tank bursts". Then I got onto Suncorp and their answers were very clear and unambiguous. And when the fine print arrived it was confirmed.

Hope you are going alright Perp. Big shock so soon after the last one.
 
Amadio said:
The basis could be around the definition of flood.

If the average Joe Blow thinks he was covered because flood has one meaning for him but the insurance company has a different meaning then barristers are going to be all over this interpretation.
Click to expand...
There may be some grey for a few properties in the Lockyer, but the legal definitions will prevail over what people "thought" it meant, and Brisbane (at least the areas I'm aware of) was quite clearly flooded, rather than storm-damaged. It's heart-breaking. :(
Amadio said:
The only thing preventing a class action suit will be if these insurance policies have a section (like Suncorp does) in the fine print which says "What you are NOT covered for" which sets out exactly that flooding is not covered.
Click to expand...
They all have that.
Amadio said:
Hope you are going alright Perp. Big shock so soon after the last one.
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Yeah, 14 months after moving back into the repaired house! With both floods higher than '74.

But we're all safe, and insured, so we're aware that we're very lucky; it's just an inconvenience. Just waiting to hear if the house will be rebuilt or condemned...
 
csc2 said:
total media beat up brisbane is...............the river will be down in a few days........................tv stations are vying for ratings.....im sick to death of ch 9 stating such false info about many areas being so bad............for sure there are some that are doing it tough but generally most of brisbane is high and dry

back to normal in two weeks people.............
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CSC2 you are a idiot I bet you live in Brisbane and sat on your *** all weekend and watched it on TV or drove around in your car like a tourist.

yes a lot of Brisbane was not affected I live in West End and have spent the past 4 days helping friends and complete strangers drag all their belongings onto the street to be thrown out. and then gutting their homes.

I play footy for yeronga and 18 of its players lost their homes + the brand new $15m complex.

To say that things will be back to normal in 2 weeks you truly don’t have a clue of the damage this flood has done. from the people have been dealing with its going to be over 2 week before most houses dry out and good luck getting a tradesman to help you rebuild your property the costs of work has just doubled.

A lot of the homes will never be rebuilt

and consider the investors I was helping out a friend with their investment property on Sunday who had LL insurance they will not cover for loss of rent and now he will need his property re rented within a month or he loses it.

CSC2 I will be out again this weekend helping people in Yeronga how about getting of your *** and come out and help

Please keep these stupid comments to yourself in the
 
We learned it in Sunday School - "The rains came down and the floods came up".....

Insurance companies are bound by their policies, which are legal contracts. You will get what is in your contact with your insurance company. Insurance companies in turn reinsure against catastrophies, and they will get exactly what is in their agreement.

Any insurance company who pays out when not legally required to will quickly go broke as their reinsurance won't cover them.

Bottom line - Suncorp. But then, many go elsewhere is Suncorp can be slightly more expensive. At the end of the day you get what you pay for.

BTW, this topic was done to death by the media after 1974, with politicians huffing and puffing that "things will change". Guess what? They finished up putting it in the too hard basket. People who are high and dry, nowhere near any waterway and in no flood risk whatever object to paying extra to compensate those who, for whatever reason, buy in an area close to creeks or the river or in known flood areas.

This could have been so very much worse.
Marg
 
Found out yesterday afternoon about 4.30 that the Bank controled Insurance Company that i had just reinsured with with not cover that property with the way it happened ,the investor who controls the one next door to me is in the same boat,plus his riverfront house at Yeronga is a total demo job,he told me yesterday as we sat outside our properties watching the sun go down drinking burbon and watching all the cars go by looking at us
sitting in a plie of rubbish in the deck chairs that had been washed down the street,just got to get up the morning and start again,,
 
I'll add my commiserations willair. You sound like you are taking it quite well and haven't thrown in the towel. What is your first step in starting to get it liveable?
 
Guys, sorry I did not start this thread, with the thought that we would share our opinions on the right and or wrong of things, as to me, that is for another time. Sadly, while I mentioned I was thankful that we/us were not badly effected, I knew others were and would be. From my perspective, my heart goes out to those that have been effected, with some in the worst way possible. I understand that differing opinions do get under skins occassionally, however may I ask for consideration in you reaction. We do not have to "bite" if we disagree, we can choose to remain silent. To Willair and others on this forum that have had propertes effected, I know this will test your strength. I hope it helps knowing the "good will" of this forum and no doubt that of your family and friends, will assist.
 
Hold tight Willair.

Hubby's parents went under in the 1974 floods with no flood insurance. Up to the tops of the windows. Sold out in 1981 to retire to the Coast after prices had recovered due to Wivenhoe Dam....

In the end the Government paid for repairs to the house to make it liveable - replaced internal walls and basic fittings. Nothing flash, but then again this was 1974 when housing was far less luxurious than expected today.

A panel of hydrologists is being appointed to rule on the exact nature of flooding in different areas to enable uniformity between insurance companies as to how they define the flooding. This is partly due to the few hydrologists available, and will ensure that different companies won't get differing opinions.

And another $20 MIL hit the flood appeal fund in the last 24 hours, much credit being given to Oprah publicising the fund on the US televising of the first of 4 programs recorded in Australia.
Marg
 
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