How long does an insurance claim take in Australia?

"How long will this take?" is the first question everyone asks after lodging a claim, and insurers are famously vague in reply. There are real deadlines, though — set by the industry's own code — and knowing them changes a claim from an open-ended wait into a process you can hold the insurer to.

The deadlines insurers have signed up to

The General Insurance Code of Practice binds most Australian insurers to claim-handling timeframes:

• Decision within 4 months of receiving the claim, in ordinary circumstances.
• Decision within 12 months in exceptional circumstances — declared catastrophes, suspected fraud, or where you have not responded to reasonable requests.
• Decision within 10 business days once they have all the information they need and any assessment is complete.
• Progress updates at least every 20 business days while the claim is open.

What "normal" actually looks like by claim type

• Car — repairable damage: often days to a few weeks for a decision; total time depends on repairer availability and parts.
• Car — total loss: typically a few weeks, including valuation and payout of agreed or market value.
• Home — single event (burst pipe, break-in): weeks to a couple of months, driven by assessor visits and repair quotes.
• Home — after a catastrophe: months, sometimes up to a year. Assessors, builders and materials are all stretched at once.
• Travel: commonly a few weeks once documents are in — the delay is usually gathering receipts and reports, not the insurer.

What actually slows claims down

• Missing information. Photos, receipts, police event numbers, proof of ownership — every gap adds a round-trip.
• Cause disputes. Home claims stall when the insurer argues damage was gradual (maintenance) rather than a sudden insured event — hydrology and building reports take time.
• Third parties. Not-at-fault car claims can wait on the other driver's insurer admitting liability.
• Catastrophe backlogs. After major storms or floods, everyone's claim slows at once.

When and how to escalate

If the claim blows past the timeframes above, or updates stop coming, escalate in two steps. First, lodge a formal complaint with the insurer's internal dispute resolution team — they generally must respond within 30 calendar days. If the response does not resolve it (or does not arrive), take it to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA is free for consumers, and an open AFCA case has a remarkable way of unsticking a stuck claim.

Fast claims start with findable paperwork

Every week of a typical claim delay traces back to a document someone could not produce: the policy number, the receipt, the certificate of currency, the photos from before the damage. Claimants who can produce everything on day one consistently land at the fast end of every range above.