Home or contents insurance claim refused — Financial Rights Legal Centre
FreeAustraliaFactsheet
Good for: the four usual reasons a claim is refused, and the four ways to dispute one. Start here.
THEY DO THIS
EVERY DAY.
YOU DO IT ONCE.
The advice is free. Ignoring it is not.
START WITH ONE FREE CALL Insurance Law Service · 1300 663 464 Free, specialist, national. Mon–Fri 10am–1pm Sydney time.BEING BUILT
Where to get advice, in what order, and what each one is good for. Everything here was checked by a person before it went up; tell us at media@claimsdenied.au if a number has changed.
Nothing on this page is a paid listing. Nobody pays to be here, and nobody pays us.
What to do first
A rejected claim can feel devastating. Even if only part of your claim has been rejected, there are things you should and should not do while you are vulnerable and under stress.
Insurers will often attend a site meeting, or call you, and offer a partial settlement — usually in cash. A friendly face or voice offering you a handful of cash can be tempting when you have just had a major loss and had your claim denied. Don't be tempted into a rash decision. This staging is a recognised part of the insurer's playbook.
Our advice is to put in writing, at the start of the claim, that no verbal statement by any policyholder during a meeting will constitute acceptance or denial of an offer. If it is not in writing, start every phone call and every meeting with these words, or words to that effect:
SAY THIS — AT THE START OF EVERY CALL AND EVERY MEETING
“I will accept no offers verbally. All offers are to be in writing. Nothing I say is to be regarded as acceptance or denial.”
These are important, life-changing decisions. What you say may be acted upon by the insurer if it suits them. You need time to make fully informed and careful decisions. Being asked to make them on the spot, verbally, is unfair and disadvantages you.
Ask for all settlement offers in writing, and have an expert look at them before you agree to anything.
Where to get advice
A denied claim can feel like a legal problem. Usually it is a claims problem first.
Court is an option, but it is an expensive option and not always necessary. Getting legal advice is prudent, but having a lawyer represent you in a claim from its start can get very costly, very quickly. The legal channel might not be the best avenue to resolve your specific situation. Avenues other than lawyers and court exist in many cases.
AFCA — the umpire — says its service is “free and easy to access, without the need for representation”, and that fees paid to a representative “will not be awarded as part of any compensation provided in the outcome of a complaint”. Lawyers are specialist tools; use them carefully, and only when they are the correct tool for the specific problem you have.
If we had known just the points above, we would have saved ourselves tens of thousands of dollars and many months of stress and heartache.
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- The Insurance Law Service — 1300 663 464 Free, specialist, national. Ring them before anyone else.
- A financial counsellor — National Debt Helpline 1800 007 007 Free, and they know how to talk to insurers.
- A claims advocate For a complex or high-value claim: someone who reads scopes of work and expert reports for a living. They charge; ask how before you sign.
- AFCA, yourself — 1800 931 678 Free, no lawyer required, and the insurer has to answer.
- A lawyer When the amount exceeds AFCA's limits, when a deed or release is on the table, or when the matter is heading to court. Take the free first consultation and ask what it costs after that.
The two clocks
You do not have forever to take a denied claim to AFCA. Two limits run at once, and the first one to run out shuts the door for good.
CLOCK 1 — 2 YEARSfrom the insurer’s final written answer
CLOCK 2 — 6 YEARSfrom when you became aware of the loss
LOCKED OUT
Whichever clock runs out first shuts the door. Time left on the other one does not help you. The bars are drawn to scale: two years is a third of six. The black block at the right of each is the door — the point you lodge with AFCA.
Guides for lay people
Read in this order if you are new to it. Each line says what the guide is good for, so you can skip what you don't need.
Insurance complaints to AFCA — Financial Rights Legal Centre
FreeAustraliaFactsheet
Good for: what happens once you lodge, and what a recommendation and a determination actually are.
How to complain — Moneysmart (ASIC)
FreeAustraliaGovernment
Good for: the three-step ladder — the business, a written complaint, then AFCA — and how to word the written one.
The process we follow and Make a complaint — AFCA
FreeAustraliaThe umpire
Good for: the stages and the time limits, in the umpire's own words. Also see AFCA's floods and storms disaster support page.
Insurance Code complaint — sample letter — Financial Rights Legal Centre
FreeAustraliaTemplate
Good for: when the insurer has broken its own Code of Practice — delay, poor communication, no reasons — and you want it on the record.
Insurance check-up: storm or flood — Legal Aid NSW
FreeNSWChecklist
Good for: the six things to check before the next event — sum insured, flood cover, underinsurance.
Insurance after a disaster — Disaster Legal Help Victoria
FreeVICGuide
Good for: a clear walk through lodging, disputing and underinsurance. Victorian service, readable anywhere. 1800 113 432.
FreeAustraliaArticle
Good for: the basics of documenting damage and reading the PDS, before the dispute starts.
Making an insurance claim, parts 1–3 — Undercover Architect podcast, with David Keane
FreeAustraliaPodcast
Good for: three hours of plain talk on your rights, your options and how to read a settlement offer. Listen while you drive.
Insurance claim rejected — what's next? — Maurice Blackburn (a law firm's article)
FreeAustraliaArticle
Good for: why policy wording gets argued, and the internal-review-then-AFCA path. Written by a firm; read it as such.
Free legal help
Insurance Law Service — Financial Rights Legal Centre
Mon–Fri 10am–1pm Sydney time · insurancelaw.org.au
FreeAustraliaSpecialist
Good for: free advice for any Australian consumer with a home or contents dispute, including natural disasters. Extended help and casework are prioritised for people who are disadvantaged. The single most useful number on this page.
Disaster Response Legal Service NSW — Legal Aid NSW
FreeNSW
Good for: insurance claims and disputes after a bushfire, storm or flood, plus hardship, tenancy and Centrelink in the same call.
LawAccess NSW
Mon–Fri 9am–5pm
FreeNSW
Good for: the front door to Legal Aid and to the community legal centre nearest you.
Mid North Coast Legal Centre
Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour · Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · mnclegal.org.au
FreeMid North Coast NSW
Good for: free legal information, referral and advice for eligible people between Coffs Harbour and Nabiac.
Elsewhere in Australia
FreeAll states
Good for: every state and territory has a Legal Aid commission and a network of community legal centres. In NSW use clcnsw.org.au; elsewhere search your state's Legal Aid. We are building a state-by-state list.
Advocates
David Keane — Solve My Claim
Mon–Fri 8am–4.30pm · claims@solvemyclaim.com.au · solvemyclaim.com.au
ChargesAustraliaFree consultation
David Keane is the advocate this family uses. Andrew recommends him personally, from experience, without guarantee — and says so here because he wishes someone had told him sooner. David has proven expertise in dispute resolution, claims preparation, consumer advocacy and loss adjusting for policyholders.
Other advocates
ChargesAustralia
Claims advocates and policyholder-side loss assessors exist across Australia. They charge, so ask how before you sign. The Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby (acilobby.org.au) has a matching service that puts policyholders in distress in contact with an appropriate adviser — in its own words, it assists “policy holders in distress by matching them with an appropriate insurer or insurance adviser”. We endorse the work of ACIL.
Private lawyers — with a free first conversation
Listed because they say, on their own pages, that the first conversation is free and that they handle home and contents disputes. Read step 5 above before you ring. Not endorsed; no relationship with us.
Maurice Blackburn
Offices nationally · mauriceblackburn.com.au
Free first consultationThen chargesAustralia
Their words: “Obligation-free first consultation. If you choose not to proceed with your claim, your initial consultation is free.” Home and contents insurance listed. No-win-no-fee offered for insurance disputes — ask what that covers and what it doesn't.
Taylor & Scott
Sydney and Newcastle · taylorandscott.com.au
Free case assessmentThen chargesNSW
Their words: “a free case assessment for every insurance claim or dispute.” Their page does not name home insurance specifically — ask.
Law Society of NSW — Solicitor Referral Service
Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · online referral at lawsociety.com.au
Free referralFirms chargeNSW
Good for: up to three firms matched to your problem and postcode. In their words: “Not all law firms on the database provide a free initial consultation” — ask before you book.
Coming. A state-by-state list of free legal help; a plain-language guide to the Code of Practice and what "vulnerability" obliges an insurer to do; how to read a scope of works; what an expert report is and who tests it. If you have been through it and can point us to something that helped, tell us.