As heavy rain and flooding continues to hit parts of south-east Queensland and New South Wales, we have received more than 12,000 claims (as at 3 March) for damage to homes, property and vehicles across IAG brands, which include NRMA Insurance, CGU Insurance and WFI.

IAG Acting Executive General Manager Direct Claims, David Wilkes said: "The priority right now is the safety of all the impacted communities. We have a dedicated Major Events team focused on providing immediate support for our customers, including temporary accommodation, and we have all hands on deck to make the process as quick and easy as possible."

"So please contact us as soon as you can so we can help you with your claim and make sure you’re safe and secure."

Our Major Events team is in place all year round to ensure we are as well prepared as soon as possible when severe weather like this occurs and right now, they are helping impacted customers lodge their claims and get urgent, emergency assistance they need.

We have increased our call centre capacity to help affected customers lodge claims as soon as possible and we’ve allocated additional staff to our claims and repair teams.

For our customers whose homes have been damaged, our priority is ensuring they’re safe. We have secured additional temporary accommodation for customers displaced from their homes and our assessors and repairers are on the ground where it is safe to access impacted areas. We will move into other regions once floodwaters recede.

NRMA Helicopter supporting cut-off communities

Our NRMA Insurance helicopter, piloted by Geoff Sprod, has been helping emergency authorities by transporting NSW SES rescue teams and essential supplies, assisting with evacuations and providing critical information about the flood conditions in Northern NSW.

Yesterday, Geoff used the helicopter to deliver a parcel from Essential Energy to Lismore which was critical in restoring power to the entire township.

Returning to your property after a flood

If you have returned to your property and are starting the clean-up following a flood, here are some tips you can follow as part of your claim:

• Take photos or videos of damage to your property and belongings to help with your claim.
• Keep samples of materials and fabrics to show your insurance assessor, which will assist with sourcing replacement materials.
• Remove water or mud-damaged goods from your property that might be a health risk, such as saturated carpets and soft furnishings.
• Speak to your insurer before you attempt or authorise any building work, including emergency repairs, and ask for the insurer’s permission in writing.

Rotten food, damaged furnishings and furniture should also be thrown out.

Don’t worry if you don’t have policy documents with you. We keep our records electronically and only require your name and address in order to process a claim.

Claims consultants available 24/7

We encourage any customers who have been impacted by this event and haven’t spoken to us yet to get in contact. Our consultants are available 24/7 to take your calls. We keep records electronically so don’t be concerned if insurance documents are not readily on hand.

NRMA Insurance: 13 11 23 or www.nrma.com.au 

CGU Insurance: 13 24 80 or www.cgu.com.au 

RACV: 13 19 03 or www.racv.com.au/insurance 

WFI Insurance: 1300 934 934 or www.wfi.com.au 

Coles Insurance: 1300 265 374 or www.coles.com.au/insurance 

Counselling and psychological support

Our teams are offering our customers and their families access to free and confidential counselling by a team of psychologists experienced in providing post-incident support.

Help finding your loved ones

Our partners, the Australian Red Cross, have activated their Register. Find. Reunite service to help people locate each other during this emergency and let family and loved ones know they’re safe.

We will continue to provide updates on our response to the heavy rain and floods in SE QLD and NSW and the support available for our affected customers.