00:00Josh Dawson and his young family moved into their Eugoura home six months before it was
00:07hit by what was described as an inland tsunami.
00:11A hydrologist hired by insurance company Allianz found the damage had been caused by a nearby
00:17creek, making his claim ineligible.
00:20It's almost as if the insurance companies own the hydrologists.
00:25They pay them to give them an answer.
00:28After taking his case to the insurance regulator, Josh Dawson was once again knocked back because
00:33he couldn't afford his own hydrological report.
00:37He was among many witnesses to call for independent water experts to be used in flood assessments.
00:43If they're an independent, they're not going to favour the insurance company as such.
00:49There's more opportunity for them to tell the truth.
00:54Everything is set up in the insurer's favour.
00:58We understand that insurance companies are businesses and they need to make money, but
01:04we would ask them to understand that we're not just the policy number.
01:09In the nearby town of Molong, business owners and residents shared their experiences of
01:14major flooding.
01:15Heba El-Kurdi runs the local gym which had to shut for nine months.
01:20She lost hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and memberships.
01:25She told the inquiry her insurance company paid out 30% of her claim.
01:30You get pushed into a corner, you become desperate and whatever they throw at you, you want to
01:35take and try and recover.
01:37Molong resident and lawyer Kirsty Evans did more than 250 hours of pro bono work representing
01:44the town's businesses.
01:46She told the committee there was little support for flood victims.
01:50They've pulled money off home loans, additional farming businesses.
01:54This is regional and rural Australia.
01:56We're self-funding our return at the benefit of insurers so we can get back to business.
02:02The inquiry will now travel to north-western Sydney today to hear from residents in the
02:06Hawkesbury.
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