AN estimated $10 million in unpaid insurance claims are in dispute following last January's floods in Charlton and Rochester.
Householders and business are urging the insurance industry umpire to resolve the disputes.
- TELL US WHAT YOU THINK?
- Were flood victims treated unfairly by insurance companies? Vote now
- READ MORE: Humanity prevails in Charlton
- Have Your Say in the form below
The disputes largely revolve around whether damage was caused by floodwater or stormwater.
Most of the claimants are from Charlton where residents' homes were inundated in a downpour that overflowed the Avoca River that runs through the town.
Insurance companies argue damage was caused by floodwater, which is not covered under many policies, and some are refusing to pay out claims.
Residents argue the damage was caused by stormwater run-off that built up after the ground reached saturation point.
Some are living in houses wrecked by the inundation.
Maurice Blackburn lawyer Michael Bates said his company had commissioned a report from hydrologist Dr Phillip Marren, from the University of Melbourne, that showed Charlton's local drainage system is highly likely to have reached capacity and overflowed between midnight and 4am on January 14.
Dr Marren's report said rain after 4am on January 14 was likely to have contributed to overflow and it was highly likely that the intensity of the rain and stormwater run-off would have caused damage.
"Heavy rainfall between 10 and 14 January is likely to have caused saturation of soils in farmland surrounding Charlton such that the additional rain was likely to have caused saturation overland flow or run-off," the report says.
Mr Bates said disputes ranged from $30,000 for damaged contents to $250,000 to $300,000 for damaged houses.
He said claimants, many of them long-time policy holders, had been devastated at the way they had been treated by insurance companies.
One claimant, Dr Stephen Webb, whose house and contents were damaged, said: "There is a group of people who have done nothing since the flood.
"They have closed the door on their houses and walked away, are living in caravans in back yards, in sheds or have accommodation elsewhere."
