INSURANCE companies got it wrong when handling hundreds of claims by victims of the devastating 2011 floods.
In a boost for homeowners who had given up on having knocked-back claims paid out, the Financial Ombudsman has ruled overwhelmingly in favour of the victims.
At the centre of the payouts is the controversial release of water from Wivenhoe Dam - the flood wave - that went on to flood thousands of homes and properties downstream.
The Financial Ombudsman found the heavy rain that fell from 4am on January 11, 2011, prompted engineers to later adopt the "W4" release strategy of Wivenhoe Dam - under which protecting the dam became a priority over limiting downstream flooding.
This opened the door for a large number of people having their claims paid out where they otherwise would not have.
A total of almost 59,000 claims were lodged after the disaster. Of those initially rejected by insurers, 1182 appealed to the ombudsman.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/queenslands-financial-ombudsman-rules-that-flood-insu...
