How our people are helping

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With her family’s farm under threat, Jayde joined a local community meeting about the fires and learned that many people were unaware of what to do if they needed to make an insurance claim.

Given her expertise, Jayde spoke to many locals about what to do if their property was damaged or lost.

She explained what their policies would and wouldn’t cover, helping people make decisions about what to pack if and when they were evacuated, and advised them to take photos of their belongings, to help if they needed to claim.

Holidays on hold

Jayde soon realised how much help the local communities needed and decided one of the best things she could do at that time was to use her insurance knowledge to support them, despite being on holiday and with the threat of bushfire to her own farm.

Rather than return to her holiday, she set up shop in the NRMA agency in Wagga Wagga, where she had a steady stream of appointments with customers affected by the bushfires.

“Customers were overwhelmed with the service offered and have been incredibly grateful for everything that we’re doing,” said Jayde. “I hug every single customer and the tissues are always on standby.”

Jayde even visited the local camping ground to find NRMA customers she could help arrange accommodation for.

“Many would have continued to camp in tents not realising they had temporary accommodation as an inclusion on their policy,” Jayde said.

Customer service and compassion

Customers are appreciative of Jayde’s personal touch and the understanding she brings because of her personal experience of the bushfire threat.

One customer said: “I had a beautiful, understanding NRMA representative named Jayde Webb. She was very thorough and very compassionate and dedicated to helping with our claim.”

Jayde’s manager Natalie Etheridge has been supportive of her staying on the ground in communities impacted by the devastating fires, understanding it’s where she can make the biggest difference for customers right now.

“We could not be prouder of Jayde; her compassion, empathy and kindness has changed these people’s lives,” Natalie said.

The good work continues – fundraising to feed livestock

After years of drought, the fires have burnt much of the remaining grass and feed, leaving families like Jayde’s struggling to feed their livestock.

Witnessing this struggle, Jayde saw an opportunity to help raise funds to go towards animal feed for livestock that have been affected by the bushfires.

Through IAG’s employee fundraising platform, Cooee, she has set up a fundraiser for Rural Aid’s Buy-a-Bale for feed delivery to the Southern NSW and Northern Victorian towns of Tumbarumba, Batlow and Corryong and surrounding areas.

Jayde truly is a local hero, and we are so proud of her. Which is why we want to support her and local farmers that are suffering in the aftermath of the fires.

If you would like to help drought and fire-affected farmers (including Jayde’s family), you can donate through IAG's giving platform. 

To find out more about how IAG is helping customers affected by the current bushfires visit IAG's Bushfire Response hub.