Jan Juc family left homeless after battle with insurer

A JAN JUC family say they’ve been left without any of their possessions, in significant debt, sick and homeless after a six-year long battle with their insurer over mould and chemicals in their family home.

Leza and Travis Ashford initially lodged several successful claims with AAMI in 2016 after mould was discovered in their Jan Juc property, but after several visits by AAMI appointed contractors over the next 12 months the insurer deemed the job done and cut off financial assistance to the family of four.

During the initial mould remediation phase AAMI agreed to rehome the Ashfords, admission they say the insurer had heeded repeated concerns that Ms Ashford was allergic to potential mould treatments.

“I advised AAMI not to use any chemical treatments for the mould. AAMI told me they could not treat the mould any other way and would only accept my claims if I agreed, which I reluctantly did after ensuring all parties were fully briefed on my allergies to salicylates,” Ms Ashford said.

“Following several phone calls, emails, and detailed onsite in-person meetings to address my allergy concerns, AAMI promised they would research and undertake only safe mould treatment options, which would not pose any allergy risk.”

When the family returned home after it had been treated, Ms Ashford suffered severe allergic reactions that continued for months and eventually required her to be hospitalised with anaphylaxis.

“My hearing loss came from that, balance issues, more sensitive to fumes, an infection in my brain that still causes pain,” she explained of lasting symptoms.

The Ashfords say AAMI was initially apologetic, offered to investigate what had gone wrong and fix the issue.

“But shortly after, they closed ranks and abruptly closed our claims … they walked away mid-renovation, leaving our home and contents damaged and contaminated, with exploratory holes in the walls and ceilings, extremely high mould readings, and dangerous chemical fume contamination.”

“I even had one of AAMI’s experts call me while recovering from an anaphylactic reaction to yell at me and abuse me. They told me I didn’t have an allergic reaction because no chemicals were used in the attempted remediation, only water,” a claim the insurer later walked back.

Travis was the last to visit the family home in early 2017 when he returned to gather some prized family possessions, without telling Leza who he knew would disapprove.

“I took a change of clothes, had a shower and she still reacted to me, she’s that allergic to the mould treatment they used,” he said.

Despite being unable to return home, AAMI had cut off support to the family of four in April 2017.

“We were homeless. The kids used to ask, when are we going home, when are we going home, and we used to say ‘soon’ because we thought we were. It’s been very hard on them,” Ms Ashford said.

The Ashfords eventually took the matter to AAMI’s Internal Dispute Resolution department that expressed “regret” for how the family had been treated.

“I would like to apologise for the handling of your claims which has been a stressful time for you and your family.”

The department noted the family had “been very transparent about Leza’s condition and ongoing allergic reactions due to the mould remediation chemicals used by AAMI’s vendors”.

AAMI agreed to again cover temporary accommodation costs until the claim was finalised, a point the insurer says it reached in April 2018 when its specialists found “no unremediated mould arising from the claimed events was identified” and “no evidence” of chemical contamination.

“What insurers do is weaponise time, they sit on it, sit on it,” said Michael Bates, an insurance lawyer who’s taken on the family’s case and is due before the County Court in March.

“About three times a year I see things that just blow my mind, and this is one of them.”

AAMI declined to answer a series of questions this paper put to it, citing legal proceedings, however did state that it’s “been closely engaged on this claim and has taken steps to seek a suitable resolution”.