All hail: AFCA finds holes in partial payout for dent claim
A car owner has won a hail damage dispute after his insurer said he should lodge individual claims for each dent not covered under its partial settlement.
Insurer Blue Zebra agreed that a December 2023 storm damaged the car but said all the claimed dents were not proven to be linked to the event.
The insurer’s appointed expert identified some impacts on the windscreen, roof and paintwork as pre-existing. He said this damage was inconsistent with a typical hail pattern.
Blue Zebra offered to cash settle for $3247 and said the complainant could lodge a claim for each individual dent if he wanted the other damage covered.
The claimant said he bought the car in September 2023 – about three months before the storm – with no damage except for a crease in a panel.
He gave the Australian Financial Complaints Authority photos taken a month after the purchase to support his argument that all dents appeared after the storm.
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The man acknowledged he did not witness the hailstorm but said the insurer’s expert “provided an opinion that is not supported by any evidence, just an opinion that the dents must have been pre-existing”. He said his payout should cover his repair quote of $12,338.
In its dispute decision, AFCA says the photos suggest the car had no damage before the hailstorm.
It notes neither Blue Zebra nor its expert had “the necessary qualifications or expertise” to opine on the “typical behaviour of hailstorms”, and the expert failed to indicate “which dents are old and what has led him to believe that”.
AFCA added: “The complainant has been consistent throughout the complaint and provided photographs to support that the vehicle was not damaged prior to the storm. In the absence of any compelling information to contradict that, it is only fair that the insurer accept and pay the claim.”
The ombudsman notes the repair quote is outdated. It says the insurer should cash settle for the quote amount plus a 20% contingency.
See the ruling here.
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