The national financial complaints regulator has had to nearly double its numbers, after complaints skyrocketed following the 2022 floods, an inquiry has heard.
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The inquiry into insurers' responses to 2022 major floods claims heard the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) had to swell its ranks by 41 per cent since the beginning of 2022.
AFCA Chief Operating Officer, Justin Untersteiner, told the inquiry the organisation needed to "lift our capacity to manage the volume of complaints before us."
"Such a large number of consumers should not have to come to AFCA to have their complaints resolved," he said.
The need for more staff, Mr Untersteiner said, was due to a doubling of complaints received by the regulator - the highest number recorded since AFCA's founding.
In a submission to the inquiry, AFCA showed that most complaints, about 36 per cent, were due to the extended period of time in progressing and finalising insurance claims.
The second most common complaint was the denial of claims based on policy exclusions or conditions; such as coverage for water damage from rain rather than flooding.
Mr Untersteiner said internal dispute resolution (IDR) casework from insurers was not being adequately resourced.
"They're essentially outsourcing their IDR to us, it's basically unsustainable," he said
The inquiry also heard that specialist reports were considered too expensive for policyholders to obtain, or took too long to be worth pursuing.
Member for Calare and supplementary committee member Andrew Gee told the inquiry "we're all in the wrong game," with experts "charging thousands" for reports from hydrologists, building inspectors and qualified technicians.
The inquiry heard that Heba Elkurdi, who owned a fitness centre in Molong, had to wait more than three months before receiving a hydrology report. Mr Gee told the inquiry that the one-and-a-half page report was one of many where intervention from his office was needed to move claims forward.
"It took three months to get that report drafted and sent to Ms Elkurdi's solicitor. It's not really very satisfactory, is it?" he said. "It's not War and Peace."
The inquiry will report its findings to federal parliament on 30 September.
