This is the almost tragi-comic scenario facing Bill and Maria Gilbert after learning this week that their insurance policy does not cover damage from a river bursting its banks.
The Gilberts, who live on a 2ha hobby farm at Bundamba, near Ipswich, had taken out home and contents insurance with AAMI, a subsidiary of Suncorp.
They understood the policy to cover losses from fire, theft and flood. But after initially being told by AAMI over the phone last week "Relax, don't worry, you're covered; we'll look after you", the Gilberts were informed that a flood caused by a "rising river" was not included.
An assessor and a geologist will inspect the house in coming weeks, and a new copy of their policy is in the post after the original was washed away, but the Gilberts are resigned to losing everything.
An AAMI spokesman confirmed to The Australian that, although the coverage extended to damage from flash flooding and stormwater, riverine flooding was excluded. "AAMI does not insure for that sort of flooding; it's as simple as that," he said.
In other words, if the water came through the roof, they'd have been covered. But because it seeped up through the floor, they aren't.
"If you don't laugh, you cry," said Mr Gilbert, a truck driver for the past 29 years.
"I've been fed this crap for bloody days. It wasn't a flood. It was the great rising river of 2011.
"What's the bloody difference? It was raining over 100mm every day; it was bloody teeming down. But the Wivenhoe Dam is open, the river's full, there's nowhere for the water to go, so it floods.
"As far as I knew, I had insurance for fire, theft and flood but they get you on the fine print.
"It's bloody upsetting. We've lost everything, and we're not the only ones."
The Gilberts are living in a shed beside the house's battered remains. They bought the property five years ago for $400,000.
The Gilberts' son-in-law, Michael Heit, who is helping finance the family's recovery and has been dealing with AAMI, said the company had failed to show any duty of care and only the federal government could step in to help.
"At the end of the day, even if they weren't across the detail and the PDS (product disclosure statement) says they're not covered, they're still customers of AAMI who thought they were covered and not once has the company shown any care for them," he said.
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