A farm group that claimed for a damaged wheat grain shed has won a payout after the complaints authority found the loss was accidental.  

The business filed its claim in August 2023 for storm-related damage that resulted in mould growth.  

It had been removing about 5000 tonnes of wheat from the shed when it discovered the walls had buckled.  

It later told the Australian Financial Complaints Authority the damage stemmed from “storage of grain and/or storm damage”.  

A QBE-appointed loss adjuster agreed there were two possible causes for the damage, noting wind-driven rain from the storm was the likelier.  

But the insurer’s engineer said damage appeared consistent with pressure applied by the grain, noting there was not enough water ingress to cause the problem.  

He said such damage was often linked to machinery being used to push grain into sheds.  

The insurer denied the claim. It argued the damage was foreseeable and did not meet its policy’s accidental damage definition, and it referred to exclusions relating to faulty design work and a failure to take reasonable care.  

In its dispute ruling, AFCA says the policy “provides broad cover for accidental damage”.

It says the insurer’s engineer did not make observations of machinery impact on the walls and did not address why the grain shed would fail when it was not at maximum capacity.

It notes he did not comment on whether wet grain would have swelled and contributed to pressure on the shed walls.  

The authority says it is not persuaded the claimant should have foreseen the damage.  

“The complainants have stated they took reasonable precautions and did not discover the damage until after the grain removal as the damage was not visible to the external wall elevations of the shed,” AFCA said.

“Given this, the evidence suggests that the buckling or damage to load-bearing elements of the grain shed was caused by the placement of the grain and that this does fall within the accidental damage cover.”  

AFCA has told QBE to confirm the full cost of the shed rebuild, given a gulf between the claimant’s $136,833 estimate and the loss adjuster’s figure of $266,222.  

See the ruling here.

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