The handling of claims through Youi’s South African office had led to delays in reimbursing Airlie Beach resident Glen Sutton for temporary accommodation costs in the wake of Cyclone Debbie, the commission hears.

Delays in making payments to Mr Sutton, who was in financial distress, were “not acceptable”, Mr Storey tells the commission.

Problems occurred in May and then were subsequently repeated, until the insured was thousands of dollars out of pocket. Correct processes were not followed initially as approval was unnecessarily sought for payment from a loss assessor.

“We missed multiple opportunities to get this right,” Mr Storey says.

Changes were made in August last year so that a similar case would be handled locally, but the process was not changed retrospectively, Mr Storey says.

Mr Storey also says Youi has this year introduced a review mechanism so claims over six months of age are reviewed at least monthly. He says a complaints manager position has also been introduced.