Boots on the ground: Suncorp is in Townsville to assist flood-affected communities

Suncorp has boots on the ground in Townsville to support customers and communities impacted by severe flooding in north Queensland. 

The insurer’s Customer Support Team is at the Townsville Sport Stadium to provide face-to-face assistance, arrange emergency support, temporary accommodation and emergency payments for customers whose homes have been severely damaged. 

As of 4pm Tuesday 4 February, the insurer, including brands Suncorp Insurance, AAMI, Shannons and Apia, had received 526 claims related to the severe weather event from 29 January to 4 February. This includes 402 homes claims, 114 motor claims and 10 commercial property claims.  

The situation is still evolving with rainfall expected to cause further inundation across parts of North Queensland throughout the rest of this week.  

Townsville suburbs Garbutt, Burdell, and Kirwan have the most claims, and the impacts in Ingham and Cardwell are being closely monitored using daily satellite flood mapping to understand the extent of current and potential flood inundation. 

More than 200 emergency repairs are already underway to prevent further damage, and additional resources are on standby to be deployed when safe.  

Suncorp has a robust builder repair network, supported by local qualified tradespeople, to get customers’ the help they need as soon as possible. 

Suncorp’s Chief Executive Consumer Insurance Lisa Harrison said support from the north Queensland-based claims team, assessors and builders will be crucial. 

“The impact of severe flooding can be devastating, which is why our team must be on the ground when it’s safe to do so, making sure we are available to support our customers and community,” Ms Harrison said. 

“The safety of everyone in the impacted communities is always our top priority. Many roads, homes and businesses remain flooded, and we are closely monitoring the unfolding situation using cutting edge technology at our Disaster Management Centre in Brisbane to help coordinate our response. 

“We are proactively communicating with impacted customers through phone calls, SMS and radio and our dedicated Lodgement Response Team is ready to ramp up support on the phones if needed.  

“Once water recedes and residents can safely return to their homes, we will start making proactive calls to customers that may require additional support. 

“North Queenslanders are known for their resilience, and Suncorp will be here helping when they need us most.”

• Customer Support Team location: Townsville Stadium: Murray Sporting Complex, 40-48 Murray Lyons Crescent, Annandale. Operating 9am – 4pm daily.
• Mobile Disaster Response Hub location: North Queensland Cowboys’ High Performance Centre (HPC), located at 26 Graham Murray Place, Railway Estate, Queensland, 4810. Operating 9am – 4pm daily from Thursday 6 February (subject to safety accessibility).

For customers that can safely access their homes, some additional clean up tips from Suncorp include: 

• Always remember Safety first: Ensure there are no safety risks before entering your property. Only return once emergency services have given the all-clear. If water has entered your property, do not turn on electricity until inspected by a licensed electrician. 

• You don’t need to wait for an assessor to come to your home to begin cleaning up.  

• Keep your home as ventilated as possible 

• Remove wet contents (carpets, couches, curtains etc) but take photos 

• Make a list and take photos of damaged items to help us replace them 

• Impacted customers can easily lodge their claims online (without a copy of your policy as we’ll have your details) for any of our insurance brands, including Suncorp Insurance, AAMI, Apia and Shannons.