Ongoing nightmare with Budget Direct Home Insurance – be careful choosing your home insurer

Further to a previous post a few months back;

I’m posting this partly as a warning and partly to see if anyone else has had a similarly insane experience with Budget Direct Home Insurance claims.

What happened;
Severe stormwater inundation caused significant damage throughout my home, shed and outdoor areas. Budget Direct’s own moisture specialists confirmed the water was Category 3 contaminated (stormwater/septic risk) and they had to come back urgently, later that day, with drying equipment…then didn’t show or answer calls for 3 weeks!

This was exasperated by the claims manager taking 2 weeks off work with a broken collarbone and no one took over her role, so numerous calls and emails – into a black hole.

Despite the event happening in very early Nov – as it sits, I currently have no confirmed Scope of Works despite numerous builder and subcontractor attendances (15 appointments V’s 10 attendances). Imagine trying to work full time hours, around 15 seperate appointments AND running your stage 4 mother to treatment appointments whilst these insurance boffins might / might not turn up.
Despite so many attendances, I’m advised there may be need for numerous and ongoing attendances from multiple persons to progress any further – so if that’s the case, why have there been 10 plus attendances already?

I’ve literally had tradies turning up (against my advice), weeks later, not knowing why they’re there – a plumber turned up last week, asking which pipes to fix…it’s insane.

Some sub contractor reports and costings are completely and utterly unrealistic – one example $20 was allowed for over $500 worth of submerged copper cable onna solar system.

I’ve had massive conflicting advice about “causation” of the damage, contamination, and whether the claim is even “accepted” months after the event…

I’ve had Conflicting advice on who is managing the claim, at one stage being told a home assessor is now in charge and then never hearing or seeing him again. I’ve even received illegal advice in emails pertaining to submerged electrical items that would be put back into service!

I’m now getting repeated and recurring delays blamed on “waiting for the builder” while damage worsens, leaving me to try and deal with…well, see the picture below.

I’ve personally had to spend my Xmas holidays, remove flooring, furniture, cleaned mould, and disposing of damaged items — work I reasonably expected insurance to manage – and plenty still to do – Budget don’t care, don’t want to listen…

The kicker
Despite all of the above, I’m now being told:
only parts of contaminated flooring may be replaced, I may need to sign waivers,
further loss “may not be covered” due to delays — delays caused entirely by insurer q are still present weeks after event, AFCA (ombudsman) complaint lodged separately but they are backlogged, Escalation is ongoing and I’m now in the “high care team” who completely ignore q

TL;DR:
Major water damage claim. Weeks of delays. Endless subcontractors doing nothing but claiming attendance $$$. No Scope of Works. Contradictory advice. Still living with contaminated areas while the insurer “waits on the completely inadequate reports .”