When the Hawkesbury River broke its banks, Jenny’s home and plenty of other residents’ places in the Lower Macdonald area were in the firing line. Days of torrential rain had completely saturated the landscape, so once the River swelled, the water had nowhere else to go.
After the waters subsided and Jenny was able to see the extent of the damage, she got in touch with Youi to get her claim underway. Jenny took us through her ordeal and we got things moving to help get her life back on track.
A HARROWING EXPERIENCE BEFORE A HAPPY OUTCOME.
When Jenny first called through to lodge the claim, she was a little bit concerned – especially after she thought that she was going to end up swimming in the middle of the night.
“I'm just ringing to see if I can claim on anything or get some relief. I can't get to my home. It came up four metres. There's no access roads,” Jenny said, speaking to Youi claims advisor Tarni.
Through the night, Jenny kept putting her hand down while lying in bed to make sure she wasn't touching water.
According to Jenny, she thought it might flood a little bit downstairs, but wasn’t worried as she was safe upstairs in the raised home. And then it got worse.
“The ferries are out and the road was blocked because of landslides. The helicopter came with the SES and said you have to evacuate immediately,” recounted Jenny.
She was concerned about her grandkids being in the property as well, so she made sure that they were safe by evacuating them first.
“I organised with a friend for him to come round in his tinnie, so he came round and picked the boys up over the back deck. It hit a tree and the boat moved. The 10-year-old said, ‘do you think we'll make it?’
“I mean, you can cope yourself, but when it's the kids, you can't…can't cope,” Jenny said through tears.
Jenny's home was categorised as a category A claim, which means that her property was unlivable. So Tarni got the claims process underway by first organising emergency funds for Jenny. We then arranged to have her water tanks cleaned out to provide safe drinking water, and a replacement washer and dryer so she could access some clean clothes.
Because Jenny made a combined claim for two policies – her building and her contents – for a single event that occurred at the same address and time, she only needed to pay the higher of the excess amounts noted on her policies, not an excess for both.1
An assessment was soon arranged, which involved the Youi assessor attending the property and reviewing all the damage, as well as doing up the scope of works for the repairs that needed to take place.
We then stayed in touch with Jenny every five days while it was first being assessed and then, once the claim had been actioned, every 20 business days. In the end, Jenny was really happy with the way that we handled her claim and it allowed her to get back into the property as soon as she could.
Find out more about Youi home insurance, or call us on 13 YOUI (9684), to start a quote today.
1 This policy wording was accurate at the time of the claim and has since been changed.
