Overview of the Settlement Administration process

3. Calculation of flood adjustment factor and provision of notice 

The flood adjustment factor is the calculation used to determine the damage that would have likely occurred if the dams were operated differently. Under the Settlement Scheme (the Scheme), losses must be adjusted by this factor to ensure compensation is only being claimed for the damage caused by the operation of the dams.

In most instances, the flood adjustment factor is calculated and conveyed automatically during the second online questionnaire phase, however, there are some instances where this cannot be done, for example:

(a) In the hard copy process;

(b) For claims registered by Funded Insurers;

(c) For claims previously assessed by loss assessors for mediation or as part of the Court ordered Reference Process;

(d) For claims where the flood adjustment factor is unable to be calculated via the online questionnaire due to unusual or erroneous inputs or where the flood adjustment factor is calculated as ‘0’;

(e) For ‘special category’ claims under the Scheme.

In these instances, the flood adjustment factor is calculated manually using inputs that have been provided by the Contact either through the second online questionnaire, the hard copy process or via telephone and/or determined in accordance with cl 6.15 of the Scheme.

Once the calculation is complete, a notice of flood adjustment factor is drafted and issued to the Claimant, together with a process for accepting or seeking a review of the calculated flood adjustment factor. Except in the instances outlined above, this is done automatically via the online portal.

In circumstances where the Claimant has sought a review, a manual review occurs and a Notice of Outcome including a statement of reasons is drafted and issued to the Claimant. 

5. Allocation of claims to an Assessor for loss assessment 

Once the processes described above and all relevant review rights have been exercised and determined and/or expired, the claim is allocated to an Assessor for assessment.

There are five types of assessment that may be undertaken depending on the claim type:

Above-insurance assessments

(a) Fast Track Assessment;
(b) Residential (standard) assessment;
(c) Commercial assessment;

Insurer assessments

(d) Funded Insurer (residential assessment); and
(e) Funded Insurer (commercial assessment).

There are currently two external Assessors retained to undertake above-insurance assessments, Sedgwick and Hall & Willcox.

7. Collection of bank details 

Once a Claimant accepts an FNOA or a Notice of Outcome is issued or the 28-day review timeframe expires, the FNOA becomes final and binding.  At this point, Maurice Blackburn requests bank details to enable payments to be made.

An online bank portal has been established to provide a secure payment facility via the client portal which will be used for both interim payments and final payments. The online bank portal:

(a) Verifies the identity of the Contact who is providing the Claimant’s bank details; and

(b) Collects the Claimant’s bank details, including a copy of the Claimant’s bank statement to ensure the payment will be made to the Claimant.

Once the above information is received, before any payments can be made, Maurice Blackburn reviews the information provided by the Contact, including:

(a) Ensuring the identification documents provided are those of the Contact;

(b) To the extent possible, auditing the bank details to ensure the correct information has been provided; and

(c) Manually reviewing the bank statement to ensure the bank account details that have been provided match those on the bank statement and that they are those of the Claimant. 

It is important to note that we have sought to automate the settlement administration and assessment processes as far as possible to limit costs and save time, however, there are a number of categories of claims for which the automated online processes are not appropriate and manual intervention is required to advance claims to the assessment stage. Manual intervention may happen at any stage of the settlement administration process, meaning that for some claims there is a mix of online processes and manual processes being used.

The categories of claims include, but are not limited to:

• Claims where Claimants do not have access to the internet, who therefore require hardcopy processes to participate;
• Claims previously assessed by loss assessors for mediation or as part of the Court ordered reference process;
• Claims of the plaintiff and sample group members which were quantified by the Court and which under the Settlement Scheme do not need to be assessed again;
• Claims where there are multiple Claimants making claims in respect of losses suffered at the same loss location and where potential issues of claim overlap may arise;
• Claims made by Claimants who fail to comply with their obligations under the Settlement Scheme, including non-responsive Claimants who have either not started the first questionnaire, or become non-responsive at some stage;
• Claims where the Claimant has requested to withdraw the claim as they no longer wish to participate in the settlement administration;
• Claims that do not meet the eligibility criteria in accordance with the Settlement Scheme; and
• Complex claims that do not suit some parts of the automated processes, including estate claims, claims that have been orphaned and no longer have a Contact assigned to the claim, claims with multiple complexities, claims where the nature of losses is unclear and claims where the companies are now deregistered or dissolved.

We have team members assigned to each of the categories of claims and we are working through them to progress each claim. However, due to the complexities involved, these claims take time to resolve. If your claim falls into one of the above categories, we will contact you as and when we need you to do something to progress your claim.

For more information, email us at queenslandflood@mauriceblackburn.com.au or call us on 1800 713 864