Allianz Australia helping New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australian customers affected by severe bushfires

7 January 2020

As bushfires across Australia, particularly New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, continue to progress, Allianz Australia has a number of initiatives in place to ensure affected customers are supported.

“Our thoughts are with those impacted by this tragic event. We know this is an incredibly difficult time for our customers and we are here to do everything we can to help the community get back on its feet,” said Allianz Australia Managing Director, Richard Feledy.

Since 8 November 2019, Allianz has received over 1,040 claims, valued at over $115 million. These numbers do not include the losses incurred over the most recent weekend; Allianz is aware of significant losses in Eastern Victoria, South East NSW and on Kangaroo Island.

Allianz has partnered with the Australian Red Cross to establish an employee Bushfire Appeal. Every dollar donated by our employees will be matched by Allianz to help provide psychological first aid and assist evacuees to get in touch with families and friends. Over $50,000 dollars has been raised since November. With Allianz dollar-for-dollar matching, over $100,000 in total has been raised for the Red Cross Disaster Relief & Recovery Fund.

As customers shift their focus to recovery and gain access to their properties, and with the bushfire continuing to cause potential damage across Australia, Allianz has deployed additional resources to ensure customers’ insurance needs are met.

“Many of our customers are still at risk of bushfire damage and others are yet to assess damage due to issues of property access, accommodation, power and transport. As the situation progresses, more claims and questions will come through and our dedicated teams are ready to respond,” explains Mr Feledy.

Allianz’s customer support includes:

  • Dedicated priority phone lines for affected customers    
  • Help to recover policy details if customers lose their insurance documents in the fires
  • The ability for customers to lodge a claim or speak to a claims consultant 24/7
  • Helping customers, who have lost properties or have homes which are uninhabitable, with temporary accommodation
  • Making proactive contact with customers that have not yet made claims in certain regions
  • On-the-ground assessment team and claims team support deployed in coordination with the Insurance Council of Australia
  • Emergency payments fast tracked for affected customers to assist with immediate needs such as food, clothing or accommodation

Together with the ICA and other insurance industry leaders, Mr Feledy will be in Canberra on Tuesday, 7 January 2020, meet the Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to discuss bushfire recovery efforts.

Discussions will focus on managing the continuing and widespread devastation, the industry’s support of bushfire victims and ensuring resources get to where they are needed in a timely manner.

 

The first priority is for customers to stay safe and out of harm’s way until the bushfire risk is over.

Once they are ready and able to return to their homes or other property, Allianz recommends creating an inventory and taking photographs of damaged items such as structural elements or furniture before disturbing the scene or disposing of items.

Once the situation is safe and secure, please notify Allianz as soon as possible using one of the following methods:

  1. By calling its claims line on 13 10 13.
  2. Online via Allianz Advantage at Allianz.com.au/contact. After lodgement, a claims team consultant will contact them within 24 hours.

Visit Allianz Australia for more information on preparing for and recovering from bushfires.

For any media enquiries, journalists can contact our Media team.
Allianz Australia has been securing the future of our customers in Australia since 1914. We deliver a wide range of personal and commercial insurance products and services to more than 4 million policyholders. We also provide support for workers' compensation insurance to around 25% of the top 200 ASX companies, making us one of the leading workers' compensation insurers in Australia.

Allianz Australia Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the worldwide Allianz Group. The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with corporate customers in more than 70 countries. Allianz customers benefit from a broad range of personal and corporate insurance services, ranging from property, life, and health insurance to assistance services, credit insurance and global business insurance. Thanks to our systematic integration of ecological and social criteria in our business processes and investment decisions, we are among the leaders in the insurance industry in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
This article has been prepared by Allianz Australia Insurance Limited ABN 15 000 122 850 AFSL234708 (“Allianz”). In some cases, information has been provided to us by third parties and while that information is believed to be accurate and reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed in any way.

Any opinions expressed constitute our views at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither Allianz, nor its employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy or accept responsibility for any loss or liability incurred by you in respect of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this article.
Allianz acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work across Australia. We pay our respect to First Nations Elders past and present.



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