Boss on spot for Suncorp failings
A top insurance executive said he was “embarrassed” over his company’s failures to support traumatised flood victims during one of the worst natural disasters in Australian history.
Suncorp chief executive Steve Johnston was grilled by MPs during a probe into the 2022 floods on Monday.
The disaster killed 24 people and displaced about 85,000 as record-breaking rainfall inundated large parts of South East Queensland and NSW.
Mt Johnston said up to 1373 insurance claims filed in the wake of the disaster had yet to be resolved as of February 2024.
“We’re closing about 80 a week at the moment,” he said. “This is good progress and we expect to have that number down by the end of this financial year.”
Federal MP Andrew Gee teed off at the major insurer.
“I noticed the words at the beginning of the evidence you’ve given about how you didn’t always get it right … I just wonder if you and other insurers have any appreciation of the living hell which many of your policy holders and customers went through during these national disasters?” Mr Gee asked.
Mr Johnston said he had visited flood-affected communities to witness the trauma people endured.
“I’ve sat down with them and I’m very disappointed to say in those first early instances it’s like they are preparing to go into a battle. They are getting ready for a fight. I do see them. I’ve met many customers and it’s a very painful experience.”
Testimonies came after advocates told the hearings last week that traumatised flood survivors reported being “gaslit” and “ghosted” by their insurers after the disaster.
ASIC officials on Friday said it put Australia’s entire insurance industry on notice over failures to communicate with clients and resolve claims.