It’s difficult to imagine the impact on your life, your family, and your business, of two catastrophic floods sweeping through your community within a month of each other. But in March 2022, that’s exactly what happened to people living in Lismore, in the Northern River region of New South Wales—including Capricorn Member Shahzad Rana, who owns three service station businesses in and around Lismore.

The first flood in early March—described as a “once in 500-year event”—saw floodwater levels in Lismore rise 14.4 metres. Water collected in Lismore like a basin, as torrential rain hammered down across vast areas of NSW and Queensland, before making its way towards the coast, leaving utter devastation in its wake. Four weeks later the clean-up was barely underway when the evacuation order was given again, as more heavy rainfall caused the city’s river levee to overflow and the city centre to flood yet again. The floods— which also affected hundreds of communities beyond Lismore—were the most expensive natural disaster in Australian history, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.

For Shahzad, who had three business sites impacted, the scale of the flooding was devastating. “We’ve got a mezzanine floor and if a flood is coming, we put everything up there,” he said. “All night we packed up; I put all my computer equipment, everything up there. My staff were great. We never thought the flood was going to be that high.”

It wasn’t enough. The water rose too high. “I was so distressed,” Shahzad said. “I knew everything was gone; I was going to have to start everything from new. There was a time when I thought I was going to throw in the towel. All three sites were completely destroyed.”

Shahzad estimates his bill for the three sites came to $3.5 million. It was six months before his first site could reopen. The third site was offline for 18 months. Shahzad said he cursed himself for not having taken out business interruption protection, which he had always carried but had let lapse. He said he also felt very grateful to Capricorn Risk Services National Broker Manager, Rob Sedkey.

“At the end of 2021, I got the renewal again and it seemed a little bit pricey, so to reduce the cost I said I was going to take it off,” he said. “But Rob rang me up explaining to me about La Niña and its effect on unpredictable weather events.” Luckily for Shahzad, he considered his situation and made the decision to renew his flood protection. Shahzad said the team from Capricorn Risk Services called him after the flood to ask what help he needed, before he’d even thought to call them himself. Once the water had subsided, the Capricorn Risk Services team organised an assessor, who was able to arrange some emergency approvals.

Despite quick action, getting everything back up and running has been a slow process. “It’s been a very stressful and demanding period for me,” Shahzad said. “I’m trying to run a business but then I’ve also become a project manager and a supervisor. As you can imagine it’s been very difficult to get trades, so I’ve been paying tradesmen to come from the Gold Coast, paying for fuel and travel time, and whatever, just to get to this point.”

Shahzad said he didn’t want any business owner to go through what he had experienced but urged Capricorn Members to make sure they had all the necessary protection. “They were very generous and understanding,” he said. "I’m a longstanding Member so I appreciate what Capricorn did for me.”

With natural disasters becoming more frequent, it’s never been more important to have your business premises properly protected. Contact Capricorn Risk Services today to find out more about the protection you need to give yourself peace of mind.

Contact your local Risk Account Manager for more information, or simply call 1800 007 022 (AU) | 0800 555 303 (NZ) or email info@capricornrisk.com for assistance.

In Australia: *Flood protection offered by Capricorn Mutual Ltd is subject to availability and may change based on risk assessment. Members are advised to review their protection documents, as the availability of flood protection is not guaranteed and may be subject to Capricorn Mutual Ltd's discretion and risk appetite. This disclaimer does not alter the terms and conditions of Capricorn Mutual Ltd’s protection.Not all general insurance providers offer flood protection.

1Products sold through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd (ABN 91 111 632 789) are: (i) discretionary risk protection products issued by Capricorn Mutual Ltd; and (ii) general insurance products issued by a range of insurers and brokered through Capricorn Insurance Services Pty Ltd. Before deciding to acquire any product, you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement available from Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd to see if the product is appropriate for you. Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 460893) of Capricorn Mutual Ltd (AFSL 230038) and Capricorn Insurance Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 435197). For its protection, Capricorn Mutual Ltd has published a Target Market Determination which is available at capricorn.coop/about/capricorn-mutual. Capricorn Insurance Services subscribes to National Insurance Brokers Association of Australia's (NIBA) Insurance Brokers Code of Practice, available at cap.coop/NIBA.

In New Zealand:*Flood protection offered by Capricorn Mutual Ltd is subject to availability and may change based on risk assessment. Members are advised to review their protection documents, as the availability of flood protection is not guaranteed and may be subject to Capricorn Mutual Ltd's discretion and risk appetite. This disclaimer does not alter the terms and conditions of Capricorn Mutual Ltd’s protection.Not all general insurance providers offer flood protection.

1Products sold through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd include discretionary risk protection and general insurance products. Discretionary risk protection is issued out of Australia by Capricorn Mutual Ltd. Before deciding to acquire discretionary risk protection, you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement to see if it is appropriate for you. This can be obtained from Capricorn Risk Services by phoning 0800 555 303, emailing info@capricornrisk.com or checking the website capricorn.coop/risk. General insurance products are issued by a range of insurers and are available through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd as a member broker of PSC Connect NZ Limited. Capricorn Risk Services is a registered financial services provider (390466) and a corporate Authorised Representative (No. 460893) of Capricorn Mutual Ltd (AFSL 230038). Capricorn Mutual Ltd has published a Target Market Determination for its protection, which is available at capricorn.coop/about/capricorn-mutual.