IN SHORT

• During a major disaster event, claim numbers can be triple or quadruple usual volumes, so insurers need a comprehensive plan that allows them to scale up their operations quickly. 
• Communication with customers before, during and in the immediate aftermath of an event is crucial, and claims teams often draw on staff from other parts of the business to help. 
• Insurers use cash settlements and fast-track approvals for building and repair works to get claims settled as quickly as possible.

During the latest floods in the New South Wales town of Lismore, IAG’s executive general manager Direct Claims Luke Gallagher travelled with a small army of IAG claims managers to the disaster zone to offer personal support to customers. 

He recalls sitting face to face with a couple who had been rescued from the roof of their two-storey house. While they were waiting for help, they had also managed to pluck a neighbour out of the floodwaters, saving her life. 

In almost three decades working in the claims space, Gallagher has been on the ground in some of the worst-impacted areas in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. During that time, he says he has seen a lot of change, “including the frequency and severity of major events”, but one key lesson remains a constant: “The best thing an insurer can do is to make sure they’ve got a very robust plan that allows them to scale quickly and introduce digital lodgements to take the pressure off the claims team,” he says. 

When disaster strikes

At IAG, there’s a documented plan for major events that the entire organisation uses when disaster strikes, and sometimes, even beforehand. 

“We’ve got a dedicated natural hazards and natural perils team that includes meteorologists, scientists, mathematicians and hydrologists that help us understand weather patterns and give us a really clear indication around forthcoming events, and the potential scale and criticality of the event,” says Gallagher. “That helps us invoke the major event plan.” 

Premium

You need to login to access this

Login

What are CIP Points? About ANZIIF Membership