When property damage strikes your Melbourne home, a smooth insurance claim depends on doing the right things in the right order. Here’s a practical guide.
Documenting the Damage
Documentation is the single most important thing you can do for your claim:
- Photograph everything: Every room, every surface, every damaged item. Wide shots for context, close-ups for detail. Include timestamps
- Video walkthrough: Walk through the property narrating the damage. Video captures things photos miss
- Inventory damaged items: List everything affected — description, age, condition before damage, and replacement cost. Be thorough; it’s easy to forget things when you’re stressed
- Don’t clean up first: Document before any cleanup begins. Once it’s cleaned, the evidence is gone
- Keep damaged items: Don’t dispose of anything until your insurer confirms. Throwing away evidence weakens your claim
Contacting Your Insurance Company
- Call immediately: Lodge the claim as soon as it’s safe. Most Australian insurers have 24/7 claims lines for emergencies
- Have your policy number ready
- Get a claim reference number and the assessor’s contact details
- Ask specific questions: Is this damage type covered? What’s the excess? Do I need pre-approval for cleanup? What’s the assessment timeline?
- Confirm emergency provisions: Can you start make-safe work immediately? Is temporary accommodation covered?
- Follow up in writing: Email a summary after every phone call. Verbal agreements are hard to enforce later
Hiring a Professional Cleaning Service
For insurance claim work, use a restoration specialist:
- IICRC certification: The industry standard for water, fire, and mould restoration
- Insurance experience: They should document damage properly and communicate with assessors
- Fast response: Water damage causes mould within 24-48 hours. Smoke corrodes and stains progressively. Speed matters
- Proper equipment: Industrial dehumidifiers, thermal cameras, air scrubbers — not household products
- Their own insurance: Public liability and workers’ compensation. Get certificates of currency
Your insurer may recommend panel providers. You can usually choose your own — just confirm before committing.
Keeping Records of Expenses
Every expense related to the damage is potentially claimable:
- Emergency repairs: Tarping, boarding up, emergency plumber, electrician
- Temporary accommodation: Hotel, short-term rental, or costs of staying with family
- Replacement essentials: Clothing, toiletries, medication — immediate necessities
- Restoration invoices: The main cleanup and restoration costs
- Food: If your kitchen is unusable, increased meal costs can be claimed
- Transport: Additional travel costs if you’re displaced
Keep every receipt, organised by category. Submit them as you go rather than waiting until the end of the claim.
Understanding the Claims Process
- Lodgement: You report the damage and get a claim number
- Assessment: A loss adjuster inspects the property — in person or via documentation
- Scope agreement: The insurer agrees on what work is needed and at what cost
- Restoration: Professional cleanup proceeds, documented throughout
- Settlement: The insurer pays based on the assessment, minus your excess
Timelines vary: minor claims can settle in weeks, major damage can take months. Stay in regular contact with your insurer and respond promptly to requests for information.
If you disagree with the assessment, challenge specific items with your documentation. You can escalate through the insurer’s internal complaints process, then to AFCA if needed.
Preventing Future Damage
- Regular maintenance: Clean gutters, check plumbing, service appliances. Most water damage claims are preventable
- Smoke alarms: Install interconnected alarms throughout the home. Test monthly
- Appliance care: Replace washing machine hoses every 5 years. Clean dryer lint filters after every use
- Roof inspections: Check after severe weather. Fix issues before they cause interior damage
- Know your shutoffs: Everyone should know where the water main and power switchboard are
- Home inventory: Keep a photo inventory of your belongings, updated annually. Store it in the cloud so it survives the event
- Review your policy: Annually. Make sure coverage matches your current property value and contents
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