A landlord who waited a year to lodge a claim for damaged quilts has lost a dispute with her insurer over her excess payment.

The insured complained that Blue Zebra would not refund her $500 excess after she claimed for damage she said was caused by a dry cleaner.

But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority says the insurer is not obliged to refund the sum, because there was insufficient information for it to recover costs.

An insurer is entitled to decide whether to pursue a third party for cost recovery, and it was reasonable for Blue Zebra to conclude it could not do so, AFCA says.

The insured, represented by her broker, lodged her claim in November 2022 over damage that occurred in December 2021. She said the delay was caused by her attempts to obtain payment from the dry cleaner directly.

She gave Blue Zebra the cleaner’s details and said she was told that while the excess was deducted from her settlement, it would be refunded once costs were recovered.

The insurer pointed to the delay in lodging the claim and said when it contacted the dry cleaner, the business denied liability.

The complainant could not provide a tax invoice of the work being done.

The ombudsman has also rejected the argument that the insurer acted unreasonably or significantly delayed the claim, saying it was settled soon after being lodged.

See the ruling here.