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Last Post 12/01/2011 4:49 PM by  armorbear
FLOODS IN AUSTRALIA
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Leland
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12/31/2010 12:19 PM

    Australia is having flooding over an area as big as Texas. Twenty two towns are flooded. It is interesting how their issues are similar but different from the U.S. I wonder if there's any work available for Americans, since this sounds like a very large catastrophe.

    Here in the US we have arguments over storm surge, there they argue about whether the rain fell into a river before hitting the house.

    Australian policies do not have a standardized definition of flood, and some include it with the homeowner policy and some do not:

    "Some policies cover homes against flood only if rain in the immediate area caused the damage and won't cover homes if the damage was caused by rain upstream that caused a nearby river to rise. ....The state's [Queensland] biggest home insurer, Suncorp, yesterday restated that anyone with personal home insurance, or storm and rainwater insurance, had flood insurance as standard.

    (from the CourierMail online)

    http://www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/...5978964795

    another article:

     

    Australia Tackle Flood Insurance Problem

    Australian Insurers Try to Get Handle on Flood Wording

    Mar 27, 2009 Indrani Nadarajah

    The Australian insurance industry generally does not provide flood insurance for homeowners but the situation is slowly changing.

     With no proper flood maps or data available, providing flood insurance is a risky business, charge insurers in Australia. Eighty-five percent of Australians live near the coastline, with 60% living within 7km of it. The interior of the continent is uninhabitable desert.


     

    Who "Owns" Flood Data?

    Part of the problem dogging the debate in Australia has been an intellectual copyright issue: who would ultimately “own” the flood data if a collaborative effort between local and state governments was undertaken? Would it be the insurance industry, municipal governments, or state governments?

    No answer is as yet forthcoming, but according to Dr George Walker, senior risk analyst with Aon Benfield Asia Pacific, up to 1974, the insurance industry in Australia readily provided flood insurance. That changed when a massive flood occurred after a cyclone in the city of Brisbane, in the state of Queensland. The total damage in 1974 dollars was A$180 million ($150 million), with an insured loss of A$68million ($56 million). Dr Walker described the Brisbane flood as a “wakeup call” for the insurance industry which was already reeling from two other major cyclones in the early 1970s. The cumulative effect of the disasters suggested that the industry’s “previous perceptions of hazard risk were wrong".



    Read more at Suite101: http://www.suite101.com/content/aus...z19i6fGTUq

     

     

     

    Tags: Flood
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/01/2011 11:52 AM
    My impression is that members of this board have worked flood in Australia, maybe someone will post.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/01/2011 12:21 PM
    I used Skype to telephone Freeman's Loss Adjusters Rockhampton City, QLD 4700, # 011 610 7 4927 2511, I got an emergency service operator. The time difference is a factor, I will research it and try my call again next week.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    host
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    01/02/2011 2:47 PM

    I know Crawford has in the past deployed US based Cat Adjusters to Australia, one event this year was a hail storm in Perth however, I do not recall a flood event. London is also on the radar due to the recent winter storms in that area.

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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/02/2011 7:06 PM
    Does anyone have thoughts regarding how the flood peril is addressed in Australia? Is there separate flood coverage as in the USA? I was told that residential policies written in Australia in some way cover flood, is this true?
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    Leland
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    01/02/2011 9:40 PM
    Like I posted above, look at some of the articles. Some policies include it with regular coverage, other policies are issued separate.
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    Tom Toll
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    01/04/2011 12:22 PM

    If the adjusters who have worked in Australia and in London are honest, they will tell you that  they sustained a lot of hard work with very little profit. Sure it is exciting to go to another country and work however, you must be able to make a decent income to sustain yourself and your family. If a job is offered in one of these countries, do everything that you can to determine what expenses are going to be versus the payment schedule and your percent of that schedule. Excitement is excitement, fun is fun, but first and foremost, income is income. Just do a lot of research before you accept the assignment.

     

    I wish all of you a happy 2011 and certainly a sufficient income to support you and your families.

    Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/04/2011 10:34 PM
    Not to be relied on, but I heard today that some European company has approached US adjusters and the pay is the highest day rate, exceeding that paid after Katrina, in my career.

    A round tribe from Little Rock to Brisbane, AUS is nominally $2,700.00.

    Expenses are what you let them be.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/05/2011 12:44 AM
    "Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said when appointing Major General Mick Slater the head of a flood recovery task force that the repair cost would be at least 5 billion Australian dollars.

    She said 1,200 homes had been swamped and 10,700 had flood damage, and that 4,000 people were being housed in 17 evacuation centres in 10 Queensland towns.

    “Until the waters recede nobody knows what the price tag is,” she said. “If we need additional resources we have offers from other nations ... if we need it we’ll put our hand up.” Australia has received offers of assistance from the US government.

    Losses from flooding covering an area the size of France and Germany combined are being felt in international commodity markets."
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    Linda
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    01/05/2011 1:35 PM
    Having worked in both the UK and in Australia, I can tell you the policies are different and vary greatly. In the UK the homeowner policies we dealt with were all perils so the flooding (surge) aspect was not a consideration. That is not the case in Australia where they vary. The report writing is very different and if you do not have a grasp on the Queen's English then you might have a problem. The terminology is different but easy to grasp if you make an effort. It is pretty much up to you and your attitude.

    These assignments are not picnics--you were sent there because they are buried in claims and it is no time to think you can just be a tourist. You aren't there to make a profit for the adjusting company but rather to service their clients. Day rate is pretty much the norm. It all depends on the company you work for as to what is furnished and what you pay out of pocket. Petro is very expensive in both countries as are the accomodations compared to the US. I would caution you not to look at the day rate alone but overall costs and what is furnished to you.

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    Goldust
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    01/07/2011 11:40 AM

    Linda,

     Since you have worked there could you relate some of your personal experiences as to what to expect on an event such as this.? Would you go on this event if the income was good enough to make it  a worth while endeavor? This event seems like it could be a great blessing to the insureds as well as us adjusters willing to work & help these folks out.

     

    JERRY TAYLOR
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    Ray Hall
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    01/07/2011 1:56 PM

    Working is Australia will probably never come about unless you are on Crawfords A list. I see lots of expense and very little net, not like the USA with a" known" factor.I also see Cunninhham purchased  GAB Robbins this would be a good contact.

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    Linda
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    01/07/2011 5:34 PM
    Ray, CL did purchase a large number of the GAB operations but not all of them. I would have to do some research as I don't remember which ones exactly. Seems GAB kept the Britain operations but just can't remember.
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/08/2011 12:10 AM
    Contacts in AUS say first, that the flood is not as extensive as reported, second, the number of insured losses (claims) is relatively low, nominally 2,000, third, there are adequate numbers of AUS adjusters. fourth, from a USA adjuster with experience, AUS insurance companies are slow to pay claims.

    An observation, it is a long flight to the Land of OZ (Brisbane) and it is nominally 400 miles to Rockhampton City, QLD, and at points the road is flooded. The airport at Rockhampton City has been closed. As with all large catastrophes the rooms for rent are rented as are the rental vehicles.

    The only high points I can see is that it is summer in the Land down under and the flooded coal pits are driving up coal and steel futures.

    Think I will finish sanding the sailboat, take the dogs squirrel hunting and work on the Lotus.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    host
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    01/11/2011 4:02 PM

     Australia continues to receive flooding;

    Here is quote from an article posted today on the Houston Chronicle website.

    "BRISBANE, Australia — For weeks, the flooding in eastern Australia has been a slow-motion disaster, with drenching rain devastating wide swaths of farmland and small towns. Now, rivers are rising in Brisbane, the country's third-largest city, forcing people to flee both suburbs and skyscrapers.

    Flooding that has unfolded since late November across the waterlogged state of Queensland turned suddenly violent Monday, with a cloudburst sending a raging torrent down the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane. Hundreds had to be rescued by helicopter Tuesday.
     
    Greg Kowald was driving through the center of the town of Toowoomba when the terrifying wall of water roared through the streets, carrying away cars and people.
    "The water was literally leaping, six or 10 feet into the air, through creeks and over bridges and into parks," Kowald, 53, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "There was nowhere to escape, even if there had been warnings. There was just a sea of water about a kilometer (a half-mile) wide."  Full Article
     
    For some information on the policy I have attached one below from the QBE website. "The QBE Insurance Group is Australia's largest general insurance and reinsurance group."
     
     
    Attachments
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/12/2011 10:42 AM
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12173846

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the disaster's scale "mind-boggling"

    Although the flood peak could be below the 1974 level, Ms Bligh said: "This is still a major event, the city is much bigger, much more populated and has many parts under flood that didn't even exist in 1974.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/13/2011 3:34 PM

    "About 26,000 homes had either major or partial flooding when the river peaked at 4.46 metres." This is in Brisbane,, QLD AUS as reported by ABC news.

    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    WILLIS
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    01/13/2011 5:47 PM

    Crawford might be your best approach but  understand this. Eventhough we see alot of damage on TV that may not translate into actual claims. Remember this too, Brits are like Lloyds  they are painfully slow in paying usually wait until every supplement is handled. The travel cost alone would be enormous espeically with Queensland on the opposite site of Aus  and with the flooding just getting in the area would be tough.  Might consider taking a large snake bite kit  some of their buggers are down right large and nasty

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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/13/2011 6:39 PM
    "Thirty-thousand homes and businesses were swamped by the muddy waters and tens of thousands of homes remained without power in one of Australia's worst natural disasters. In towns upstream of Brisbane, soldiers picked their way through debris looking for more victims. The death toll stood at 25, and 61 people were still missing." per the internet.

    WH Marks Sattin has a jobs website. They are offering relatively low wages considering the difficulty involved.

    Seems to me that 1000 USD per day should be about right.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    ChuckDeaton
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    01/14/2011 9:51 AM
    "The emergency in Queensland now extends from the central coast centre of Rockhampton, where floodwaters are receding, to the devastated riverside suburbs of Brisbane, neighboring Ipswich, west to Toowoomba and the Darling Downs community of Condamine and through to the southern border town of Goondiwindi." from the net
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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