Brisbane insurance brokers say delays in claim approvals are inevitable given the scale of the Queensland floods.

A shortage of loss adjusters and assessors and confusion over flood definitions have caused a blow out in claim turnaround times that is stretching the patience of many brokers’ clients.

Peter Roberts, a director of Assurity, says the delays are a frustrating but expected facet of the rebuilding effort.

“You just have to tell your clients they are on the list of people to be assessed and in the meantime they just need to clean up and do what they can,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Clients have been told it has been referred to an assessor, but it could be a week before anyone makes contact.

“It’s not a criticism of the insurers or adjusters, it’s just the how clients feel. Everyone tends to think their claim is the only one.”

Austbrokers Premier director Alan Jones says the biggest delays have occurred when adjusters fail to advise clients of when an assessment will take place.

Citycover director Mark Sandow says brokers are also waiting for insurers to provide clarity on flood definitions. He says “grey areas” were being discovered even in policies provided by insurers who include flood protection as standard.

“We are in daily contact with the underwriters and they are dealing with things on a case-by-case basis,” Mr Sandow told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“They are waiting on hydrologists’ reports on quite a few of the claims we have submitted. It will depend on how the insurers interpret those reports.

“But we don’t want to be waiting too much longer. Our clients want answers.”

Delays caused by flood definitions come amid a renewed push for a standard definition of flood from Commonwealth Bank CEO Ralph Norris, whose CommInsure subsidiary is a major personal lines and life insurer.

Mr Norris says that while offering cover outside of an insurance policy’s terms causes a moral hazard, insurers must work towards a standard definition of flood.

Despite logistical and definition difficulties, brokers seem to agree the industry has responded well to the crisis.

“You have a degree of frustration when you see some news articles,” Mr Roberts said. “But as in most cases, when you have a natural disaster the industry really ramps things up.”

Mr Sandow says insurers are “doing the best they possibly can” and expects that most if not all claims will be settled in three months.

“They could be quicker than that, but I understand why there are delays,” he said.

Mr Jones says most clients understood limitations in flood coverage.

“I think the insurance industry still has a long way to go with standard definitions of flood, but our experience has been far from what you might read in the media,” he said.

“We have a considerable number of claims and many of them are insured for flood. Claims are proceeding and clients are appreciative of efforts put in by assessors and insurers to expedite matters.”