How to make a water damage insurance claim, step by step

A water damage claim turns on two things: what you can show about where the water came from, and whether you held the insurer to the deadlines in its own Code of Practice.

Read from primary sources · Editor-reviewed · Current as at 20 September 2026

By the waterdamagequotesau.com editorial team · Published 20 September 2026 · Last reviewed 20 September 2026 · 9 min read

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A water damage claim is won or lost on two things: what you can show about where the water came from, and whether you held the insurer to its own timetable. The first is evidence you gather in the first days. The second is in the General Insurance Code of Practice, which sets deadlines most people never ask about.

From lodging to decision: who does what, by when

Claim deadlines in the General Insurance Code of Practice (the 2020 Code as updated in October 2023). Business days unless stated. Read September 2026.
Step	Who	Deadline	Code
You lodge the claim	You	—	Photographs, the cause, the failed part
Tell you what information it needs, appoint an assessor if needed, estimate the time to decide	Insurer	10 business days	para 68
Tell you an assessor or adjuster has been appointed, and their role	Insurer	5 business days	para 72
Progress updates, whether or not you ask	Insurer	every 20 business days	para 70
Answer a routine enquiry about progress	Insurer	10 business days	para 71
External expert's report	Expert	12 weeks	para 74
Pay an advance if you show urgent financial need	Insurer	5 business days	para 64
Decide, once it has everything	Insurer	10 business days	para 76
Decide, at the latest	Insurer	4 months (12 months in listed cases)	paras 77–78
Give copies of reports relied on, once you ask	Insurer	10 business days	para 82
Decide a complaint	Insurer	30 calendar days	para 147

Two rows do most of the work. The 10 business days after lodging is when the insurer has to tell you everything it needs, using its best endeavours to ask once; answer it completely and the decision clock is running. And the 4-month outer limit is counted from when the claim was received: if it is missed, the insurer must write to you about its complaints process (General Insurance Code of Practice, paragraph 77).

General Insurance Code of Practice, paragraph 68 · 2020 Code, October 2023 update, read 20 September 2026

Within 10 business days of receiving your claim the insurer must tell you what information it needs -- using its best endeavours to ask once -- appoint a loss assessor or loss adjuster if one is needed, and give you its estimate of how long a decision will take.

What to send, and what to keep

The evidence a water damage claim turns on.
Evidence	Why it matters
Photos and video before anything moves	Where the water came in and the line it left decide which event it was
The failed part — hose, fitting, section of pipe	Whether it burst or wore out is the argument under `reg 19(2)(b)`
The plumber’s cause, in writing	The insurer’s assessor will ask the same question
A cut sample of carpet and photos of anything thrown out	The Insurance Council’s advice for items that are a health hazard
Daily moisture readings from the drying	The record of what was wet, for how long, and when it was dry
Receipts for emergency work and call-outs	Costs of stopping the damage are part of what you claim

Insurance Council of Australia, Help in disasters · page modified 23 January 2026, read 23 September 2026

For wet or damaged materials, such as carpet and couches, that pose a health hazard. If you are unsure whether an item can be discarded, speak with your insurer. The Insurance Council also warns that helpers sometimes remove parts of a property that were not damaged or could have been repaired, which complicates the claim.

Get the drying started and documented

Four digits, and restoration companies advertising for your postcode call you back. Daily moisture readings are evidence for the claim.

Naming the event

The claim form asks what happened, and the answer decides which part of the policy applies. For water from a pipe, tank or fixed appliance, the event is the escape of liquid:

Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 (Cth) reg 19(1)(a)(vi) · 2021 compilation, read 20 September 2026

This is the provision that puts burst pipes, split flexible hoses, failed hot water units and overflowing cisterns inside standard cover. It says nothing about how old the pipe was.

Water from a river or creek is flood; water through a storm-damaged roof is storm; each has its own words and may have its own excess. What your policy calls it sets the everyday words against the legal ones, and the cover check works through your answers.

Do not wait to stop the damage

The Insurance Council of Australia has said that you don’t need to wait for an assessor to visit your property before beginning clean-up (Insurance Council of Australia, Insurers encourage clean-up following widespread NSW flooding). Stopping the water, extracting it and starting the drying are what keep the claim from growing. What to agree with the insurer first is permanent repair and rebuilding, because that is where the Code’s rules on the insurer’s repairers and on cash settlements come in.

Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) s 54(1) · compilation of 1 March 2024, read 21 September 2026

Where the effect of a contract would be that the insurer may refuse a claim because of some act of the insured or another person after the contract was entered into, the insurer may not refuse by reason only of that act — its liability is instead reduced by the amount that fairly represents the prejudice to its interests.

Section 54 matters to the order of work. An insurer cannot refuse a claim by reason only of something you did or did not do after the policy started; it can reduce what it pays by the prejudice the act caused. And s 54(6) counts as an “act” an omission that allows the state or condition of the property to alter (Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) s 54(6)) — which is the practical reason to start drying on day one rather than leave a wet building to change.

Repairs and cash settlements

The insurer’s builder. Where the insurer selected and directly authorised the repairer, the insurer is responsible for the work (General Insurance Code of Practice, paragraph 86).
A cash settlement. You are entitled to information about how cash settlements work and how the figure was decided (General Insurance Code of Practice, paragraph 79). Compare it with real quotes before accepting; repair costs and drying costs have the published prices.
A scope of works. Where a home building claim needs one, the insurer must give you information to help you understand it (General Insurance Code of Practice, paragraph 61).

When it stalls, or is declined

A decision must be in writing with reasons, and you are entitled to copies of the reports relied on within 10 business days of asking. A complaint must be decided within 30 calendar days, and you can go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority at any time and in any case after 30 days; AFCA’s time limit is the earlier of six years from when you became aware of the loss, and two years from the insurer’s final response (AFCA Rules (released 12 March 2026) rule B.4.3.1). Where an insurer pays late, interest can run on the amount withheld (Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) s 57; Insurance Contracts Regulations 2017 (Cth) reg 38). If the claim is declined takes that in detail, and the first 48 hours covers what to do before you lodge.

Common questions

How long does an insurer have to decide a water damage claim?

Under the General Insurance Code of Practice, once the insurer has all the information it needs and has finished its enquiries it decides within 10 business days. The outside limit is 4 months from when the claim was received, or 12 months in five listed situations such as an extraordinary catastrophe or suspected fraud.

What should I send with a water damage claim?

Photographs and video of the damage and where the water came from, the failed part if there is one, the plumber's written cause, a sample of damaged carpet where it has to be thrown out, and receipts for anything you spent stopping the damage.

Can I start repairs before the assessor comes?

You can and should stop the damage getting worse. The Insurance Council of Australia has said, after floods, that you don't need to wait for an assessor before beginning clean-up, and that you should photograph and keep a sample of items you throw out. For permanent repairs, ask the insurer first.

What if I need money urgently?

Where you have an urgent financial need of the benefits under the policy, the Code requires the insurer to fast-track the assessment and pay an advance within 5 business days of you demonstrating that need.

Do I have to use the insurer's builder?

Where the insurer selected and directly authorised the repairer, the Code makes the insurer responsible for the quality of the work and materials. If it offers a cash settlement instead, you are entitled to information about how cash settlements work and how the figure was decided.

Can a claim be refused because I did something after the policy started?

Not by reason only of that act. Under s 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984, the insurer's liability is reduced by the amount that fairly represents the prejudice to its interests, and if the act caused no part of the loss it may not refuse at all.

Sources cited on this page

Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on 20 September 2026. How we check this.