Family To Pursue Firm For Pay-out

Illawarra Mercury

Monday August 18, 2008

By VERONICA APAP

TEN years after the flood waters receded from Wollongong, one family who still has not had their insurance claim paid wants to resume the fight.

Kala and Gopalan Raj lost everything in their former home in The Avenue, Figtree, in a matter of 20 minutes when the floodwaters gushed through in August 1998.

The couple and their two children, aged five and 18 months at the time, were trapped in the house for hours in chest-deep water as emergency services and neighbours struggled to help them escape.

"My husband put me on the dining table with my baby and my son was on the top of the pantry," Mrs Raj said.

The house had just been renovated inside only months before, but Mrs Raj said nothing could be salvaged.

"Everything was ruined, there was nothing left," Mrs Raj said.

"When we were taken out of the house I didn't even have a nappy for my baby."

The house was insured with QBE, but Mrs Raj said the company refused to pay their claim, as the insurer classified the incident as a flood, not a storm.

After the clean-up and repairs, Mrs Raj said she found it too hard to remain living in the house.

"It became so traumatic that we just moved out of the place - I just couldn't bear to live there," she said. "We sold it basically for the land value."

Mrs Raj estimates the flood cost the family $100,000 and set them back years.

"When we moved in we had a huge truck which had difficulty turning in the street," she said.

"When we left, everything fitted in a ute."

Mrs Raj said she fought in vain for her claim for about two years after the flood.

"Things got very difficult," she said.

"We went through arbitration and we took it up with a lawyer.

"Finally, the lawyer told us it was a big insurance company - we did have a chance of winning it, but if we lost we faced a very big bill."

Last week, Ms Raj said she wanted to resume the fight for the family's insurance claim.

"We worked so hard to get where we are," she said.

Now that the family is settled in their new home, Ms Raj said they are able to pursue QBE for the claim they refused to pay a decade ago.

Ms Raj has since spoken to some of her former neighbours, who were also insured with QBE, who told her their claims were paid after years of perservering.

QBE Insurance did not respond to the Illawarra Mercury's calls.

TAKE COVER

How the insurers stack up on flood and storm cover:

? GIO, Australian Pensioners Insurance Agency, Australian Unity, Real Insurance and Suncorp all cover policyholders in the event of a flood.

? CGU, NRMA, QBE, Allianz and AAMI do not cover flood damage as part of their policy.

© 2008 Illawarra Mercury

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