The Australian Financial Complaints Authority says Exmouth residents should be cautious about cash settlements after about 13 complaints over compensation following Cyclone Narelle in March. Residents struggled to receive what they considered proper compensation from insurance companies, while locally available trades and materials were limited. Lead ombudsman Emma Curtis said insurers must account for those shortages when setting settlement quotes.
Cash Offers and Repair Costs
Curtis said residents should think carefully about whether they could complete repairs for the amount an insurer offered. The warning puts the settlement amount beside the practical question residents face: whether available money can cover repairs when local trades and materials are scarce. The authority's account doesn't give the value of any settlement offers or the cost of repairs.
The cyclone prompted the complaints, and the account dates it to March. About 13 complaints followed, after locals struggled to receive proper compensation from insurance companies. It doesn't identify the insurers involved, describe individual claims, or say how many complaints concerned cash settlements specifically.
Those details matter to the reported dispute. Residents sought compensation, and insurance companies made settlement offers. The account also identifies shortages of locally available trades and materials as a factor insurers must consider. It provides no figures for available tradespeople, material supplies, or the gap between offers and repair costs.
What the Account Establishes
Curtis's statement sets out the authority's warning, not a reported settlement formula or a specific remedy for residents. The account says insurers must take local shortages into account when they provide quotes. It doesn't say whether any insurer changed an offer, whether residents completed repairs, or whether the complaints were resolved.
The account names no insurer, contractor, resident, union, or government official. It contains no company financial results, profit figures, executive compensation, or information about the cost of claims. So it doesn't establish how much insurers paid, saved, or retained in connection with the complaints.
The account also offers no proposed policy change, government action, or organized response. It reports the complaints and Curtis's caution to residents, but gives no details of a broader compensation program or enforcement action. The available facts don't show whether the authority can require insurers to change settlement offers.
For residents weighing an offer, Curtis identified the central issue: whether the cash would cover the work in Exmouth's conditions, where locally available trades and materials are limited. The warning doesn't say what any individual resident should accept, and it doesn't provide a repair-cost benchmark. Residents must compare the insurer's offer with the work they need to complete, while accounting for local availability. About 13 complaints have been made; the account gives no further outcome figures.