Lily's home was damaged by a truck. Ten years later, her insurer still hasn't fixed it
Lily loved her home, but now she hates it.
After a truck damaged it, it should have been an easy repair, but it’s 10 years later and her home has been gutted and is completely unlivable.
Lily loved her home, but now she hates it. A Current Affair
It’s now riddled with asbestos and mould and she’s still fighting her insurer to get it fixed. The 70-year-old’s been forced to move out.
“I got no home, they make me homeless and they don’t want to fix my home,” an emotional Lily said.
“It’s very hard.”
It all began back in 2016, when an overheight truck took down powerlines, causing damage to Lily’s guttering and roofing.
It was a simple fix by her insurer, GIO – or at least that’s what Lily thought.
“They came and they just replaced the gutter and eave, and they didn’t do it properly,” she said.
After a truck damaged it, it should have been an easy repair. A Current Affair
Lily lodged a claim under her $1500-a-year policy with GIO Suncorp Insurance.
Contractors were assigned to fix the gutters, but every time it rained.
“It was like a spout, basically like a waterfall,” Lily said
Lily claims over three years, GIO contractors caused further damage, as toxic mould began growing in the cupboards and on the roof.
“Mould was really, really bad. it was black and smelled, especially when it was raining, you could not breathe,” she said.
Despite attempts to escalate the issue, Lily says GIO failed to properly fix the damage and mould.
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“They were trying to say it’s only surface mould, regardless, GIO already had pictures of the black mould,” she said.
Lily got an independent report, which found “extremely high” mould concentration in the front bedrooms and ceiling, recommending a full gyprock and timber replacement.
Lily, who lives with a disability, was forced to sleep in her lounge room.
“Because my bed was mouldy, I was sleeping on a mouldy bed, I was sleeping for how many years in a mouldy house,” she said.
Lily says GIO stalled on beginning remediation works and that, seven months later, the mould had spread to the back of her home.
Lily says GIO stalled on beginning remediation works and that, seven months later, the mould had spread to the back of her home. A Current Affair
Finally, in April last year, remediation works began.
Now it’s going to take more than a lick of paint to fix the job.
Lily’s moved into a rental, leaving behind her beloved chickens.
Just before Christmas last year, she noticed disturbed asbestos in the wall.
The house is Now riddled with asbestos and mould, and she's still fighting her insurer to get it fixed. A Current Affair
She ordered another independent report, which found the home was no longer safe to live in.
Lily says she felt pressure to accept a cash settlement from GIO, which she didn’t take.
Last year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found insurers including GIO had room for improvement when it came to the fair and timely handling of home insurance claims.
“There’s a massive power imbalance there,” Tyrone Shandiman from the Australian Insurance Consumer Lobby said.
“We’ve had government inquiries about cash settlements.
“It is used in a way to coerce consumers sometimes into taking a settlement they don’t necessarily want, but there’s no other option.”
Shandiman says the industry is one-sided when it comes to contractors and insurance advisers.
“It’s a system that is open to abuse, because when you’re incentivised by a person who might be incentivised to reduce a claim, how is that a fair process?” he said.
The works inside the home have been on pause for 10 months, with the dispute now in the hands of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority – all while Lily continues to pay her insurance bill for a home she can’t even live in
In a statement, Gio told A Current Affair that “This is a complex matter, and we acknowledge how difficult this situation has been for Lily”.
“We have provided additional support beyond the standard scope of repairs and temporary accommodation.”
But Lily says all claims-related costs have now been withheld by GIO.
It’s a big blow when her pension doesn’t cover her rent.
Lily says all claims-related costs have now been withheld by GIO. A Current Affair
As for the independent review, APRA is still yet to assign an ombudsman to the case.
“I’ve never seen a claim of this nature take any longer than two or three years, for 10 years this is completely unacceptable,” Shandiman said.
“Are they waiting for me to die? Are they hoping? I’m not gonna die, I’m gonna die the day I settle, not before,” Lily said.
Full statement from GIO Insurance
“This is a complex matter, and we acknowledge how difficult this situation has been for Lily and the entire family.
“We have continued to engage constructively with the customer to progress the claim. This has included providing significant additional support beyond the standard scope of repairs and temporary accommodation, such as funding independent claims advisors, reimbursing mobile and internet expenses to improve communication, offering support services to multiple family members, and buying and maintaining a new chicken coop.
“Our current settlement offer is $912,600, which is more than three times the insured value of the home. Despite our efforts, we have been unable to reach an agreement, with the customer seeking $1.3 million to fund the purchase of a new home while also retaining the existing property.
“We are actively engaging with AFCA to support an independent determination and to bring this matter to finalisation as quickly as possible. We remain committed to participating in good faith and working towards a fair and reasonable resolution.”
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