Insurers are heading back to Clifton, Queensland, for a fourth round of in-person consultations, arriving almost exactly 12 months after a severe hailstorm left a trail of unresolved claims across the Darling Downs.
General insurance broker complaints to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) nearly doubled in 2024-25, rising to 788 from 447 the prior year, according to AFCA’s 2024-25 Datacube. For any broker with a client whose SE 254 claim remains open, the October 26 and 27 sessions in Clifton offer a direct resolution pathway with insurer representatives and AFCA both on-site.
What adequate documentation looks like matters here. Brokers who cannot produce file notes, written progress chasers, and records of client communications showing active management of an open claim face exposure if a client later argues the matter was neglected. Attendance at the hub, or a documented recommendation to attend, forms part of that record.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has scheduled the sessions at the Clifton Senior Citizens Centre, 8 Meara Pl, from 10am to 4pm each day. No bookings are required. Representatives from the ICA and AFCA will be on-site alongside insurer staff, covering claims discussions, new lodgements, and dispute resolution.
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The November 2025 storm was captured under SE 254, the ICA’s Severe Spring Storms Significant Event declaration, first declared on October 28, 2025, and extended on November 5 to include hail and strong winds across south-east Queensland between October 31 and November 2. The ICA identified Clifton, Pratten, and Esk as communities with concentrated losses from the outset.
Initial insurance hubs ran in November 2025. A second round of consultations followed in January 2026. A third was held on June 8 and 9, 2026, according to the ICA. A fourth is now scheduled for late October. Each return visit reflects claims in the region that have not yet closed.
ICA director of mitigation and extreme weather response Liam Walter explained the dynamic in May 2026, ahead of the June visit. “Hail is one of those events that can have a long tail, with the full extent of damage sometimes taking time to surface,” Walter said.
Nearly five months later, insurers are returning again. Walter acknowledged the extended timeline in the October announcement. “It has been almost 12 months since Clifton and the surrounding region was impacted by a severe thunderstorm that left widespread damage to homes, businesses, and motor vehicles. Insurers returning to the region to meet with policyholders in person is part of our commitment to helping resolve outstanding claims and supporting those who are still recovering,” Walter said.
The data behind the concurrent declared catastrophe illustrates the scale of what Clifton sits within. CAT 255 – the Queensland and NSW Severe Storms and Hail – had generated 96,800 claims and $2.30 billion in incurred losses as at August 2026, with a closed rate of just 76.8% and $949 million still outstanding, according to the ICA Data Hub. Ten months after the event, nearly one in four claims from that catastrophe remained unresolved.
Across all declared events in 2025, insurers processed approximately 294,000 claims – close to six times the 2024 volume – with average claim costs rising 39% to $16,471 and updated full-year insured losses reaching $4.8 billion, a 727% increase on 2024, according to ICA analysis from April 2026. That volume left assessors, builders, and loss adjusters stretched well into 2026 for regional communities like Clifton.
The redrafted General Insurance Code of Practice proposes that home and motor claims left undecided after 12 months be automatically accepted, subject to defined exceptions, according to the ICA’s June 24, 2026, consultation release. The Code is not yet in force, with the ICA anticipating a 24-month transition period before commencement, according to PwC Australia’s August 2026 analysis. After receiving 28 submissions during the consultation, the ICA said it expected to submit the revised Code to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for approval later in 2026, with PwC indicating an October target.
ASIC, in its supervisory letter to general insurance boards and executives dated September 30, 2026, confirmed it “acknowledges the code review process the ICA has undertaken to date, including public consultation in July 2026” and will review the draft against Regulatory Guide 183 once submitted.
The Code will not apply retrospectively to Clifton claims. But ASIC has designated insurance claims handling a formal enforcement priority for 2026, and AFCA has consistently framed delay as a conduct issue rather than an operational one. Brokers carry that conduct risk under existing obligations, not when the new Code eventually commences.
Brokers with clients in the Clifton and Darling Downs region should pull their open claims registers against SE 254 and CAT 255 before the hub dates. Any claim from the November 2025 event without a decision has a direct resolution pathway on October 26 and 27, with insurer representatives and AFCA both on-site.
For claims that cannot be resolved at the hub and remain open past the 12-month mark, AFCA is the escalation pathway. The file note trail – progress chasers sent, client updates provided, hub attendance recommended – is what separates a defensible position from a professional indemnity exposure when a client asks why their claim is still open a year on.
Walter encouraged attendance from anyone with an outstanding matter. “We encourage anyone with an outstanding claim, or questions about their claim, to come along and speak directly with their insurer,” he said.
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AFCA’s preliminary data for 2025-26, released on August 4, 2026, recorded 119,949 total complaints, the highest on record and the third consecutive year above 100,000. General insurance accounted for 36,022 of those, a 5% rise on the 34,231 recorded in 2024-25. Delay in claim handling, service quality, and claim rejection were the three most complained-about issues across all financial products in 2025-26.
The broker-specific breakdown for 2025-26 had not been published at time of writing; the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) has confirmed it will be released later in 2026. The most recent available figure, from AFCA’s 2024-25 Datacube, shows general insurance broker complaints rose to 788 from 447 the prior year, representing 0.8% of total complaints for that period, according to NIBA.
For brokers managing clients with claims still open from the 2025 storm season, the October consultations represent the clearest available option to close that exposure before it appears in the next reporting cycle.
