INSURANCE claims lodged in the wake of the 2011 Christmas Day storms have not been settled, a new report reveals.
More than 13 months after hailstorms swept the north-west, many residents are living in alternative accommodation or putting up with leaking, storm-damaged houses.
Keilor resident Bill Vatsilas, whose home was badly damaged, has not slept in his house since Christmas Eve 2011.
Mr Vatsilas is still trying to settle with his insurance company for the more-than-$140,000 worth of damage.
The Financial Ombudsman Service’s annual review, released last week, shows only 52 per cent of claims had been resolved by July last year, compared to 77 per cent of insurance claims associated with Cyclone Yasi and 76 per cent of those lodged following the Victorian floods in January and February 2011.
More than 112,000 claims were lodged in the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne following the Christmas Day storms.
Keilor Labor MP Natalie Hutchins said north-west residents were being treated as “lesser citizens”.
Ms Hutchins said English was not the first language of many people in Brimbank and the north-west and some had not been familiar with the terms of their insurance polices. She said her electorate office, assisted by retired insurance worker Murray Morgan, was helping more than a dozen households work through their insurance claims. Nine were going to court to dispute their claims.
Ms Hutchins said there were many more cases where residents were unsatisfied with the work that had been completed. Others had been unable to afford repairs as their homes weren’t insured.
Last year, the Weekly reported that Mr Vatsilas had to close his mechanical repair business due to the stress of running it, combined with delays in his insurance claim. He is working as a handyman in Bacchus Marsh, living in a Keilor rental property and doesn’t know when he will be able to move home. The home he once shared with his wife Maria and daughters Victoria and Natasha sits in disarray. Walls continue to crumble and the stench of mould worsens as the months pass by.
“This experience has been horrific — there’s no other way to describe it,” he said. “There has not been one bit of repair work. We are still having insurance assessors visit our house to assess it.”
Mr Vatsilas said many residents in the area had been “ripped off” by shoddy building works or forced to sign agreements with their insurance companies that did not cover the cost of the damage to their homes and cars.
“I have learnt from others’ horrors stories and I won’t sign any documents until I am satisfied that they are paying me what my home is worth.”
Insurance Council of Australia general manager Karl Sullivan said companies had been stretched by Cyclone Yasi, the Victorian floods and the Christmas Day storms. He urged residents who believed repair work was not up to standard to contact the Building Commission.
The ICA said as of last month insurers had closed all but a “small number” of claims which required assessment by a specialist.
