Nervous insurance wait amid flood devastation

Nervous Greater Shepparton residents are on edge as they hope insurance companies will approve their claims following the region’s devastating floods.According to the Insurance Council of Australia, insurers had received more than 6700 claims from Victorians related to this month’s floods as of Friday.And state’s flood emergency isn’t over yet, with residents of Kerang and Echuca urged to evacuate immediately amid record flood levels.Melbourne rain radarResidents along the Werribee River catchment are also on alert, after a moderate flood warning was issued late on Saturday afternoon.Water levels on the Werribee River at Ballan are expected to rise over two meters, peaking above the minor flood level on Saturday and Sunday.An Insurance Council of Australia spokeswoman said insurers’ time frames for decisions had been impacted by the high number of claims submitted.“We understand that waiting for a decision to be made on an insurance claim can be frustrating and stressful,” the spokeswoman said.“Insurers are working hard to resolve claims as quickly as possible, but with a high number of claims already in the system from the floods earlier in the year and a number of other challenging external factors, insurers’ time frames have been impacted.”Mooroopna’s Karenne McKay had volunteers help her remove items from the home she has owned with husband David for 26 years in Alexandra St on Saturday.Her daughter Michelle said although her parents had flood and contents insurance, the ordeal had taken its toll.“Everything was flood damaged, it was about hip height in water,” she said.“They’re really stressed about what they’re going to get back and what’s lost.”On Saturday, more than 200 volunteers helped Mooroopna residents clean up their flood-ravaged homes, including players from the town’s football and netball club.Many helped remove bulky and damaged furniture and appliances on to the streets or cleared it away.One of Greater Shepparton Council’s rubbish transfer stations at Ardmona had to be closed early on Saturday as it was overflowing.Isaac Dawson, halfback for the Mooroopna Cats seniors, said he was shocked by the damage he’d seen in some homes.“Some of it’s pretty hard to look at and pretty flattening, but it’s feels good to be helping out and it’s nice we’ve able to make some sort of a difference,” he said.Netballer Shelby Britten said she wanted to help locals such as Lynne McGregor, who had her home on Echuca Rd inundated by waters.“It’s a small town and the locals always come to games and get around us, so when our community gets affected, we want to do the same,” she said.Push to ‘fast track’ bypass after Shepp floodsTraders and politicians are making fresh calls for a second major road link between Shepparton and Mooroopna after almost record-breaking floods cut off the two towns for days.The long mooted Shepparton bypass is Greater Shepparton Council’s top advocacy project, according to mayor Shane Sali, and has come into focus after the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway was closed off due to the rising Goulburn River for five days.The Goulburn River peaked at 12.06m in Shepparton on Monday, just shy of record levels set in 1974, and is tipped to remain at about 11m through the weekend, highlighting the urgency for another link. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au