When Rodney Mulder heard the alarm, he woke up to find his bedroom filling with smoke.
Moments later, Mr Mulder managed to get his wife, three children and dog out of their home in Albany, 420 kilometres south of Perth, as it was engulfed by flames
By the time fire crews arrived it was all but destroyed.
But it was in the hours after the September 2 fire, when he called his insurer to file a claim, that the devastating situation got far worse.
The building in Albany’s south was home to three young children. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
RAC WA, their ostensible insurer, told the family its policy had lapsed due to missed payments and had been cancelled before the fire.
Mr Mulder said his story should be a warning to others and that insurers should have to try harder to inform customers if a policy had lapsed.
Rodney Mulder says he feels betrayed by the saga. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
‘It was our dream home’
Just three months earlier, the family moved into their house in the Albany suburb of Little Grove, with views across Princess Royal Harbour making the financial sacrifice well worth it.
“We stretched our mortgage as much as we could to be able to afford this place. This was a dream location for us,” Mr Mulder said.
The Little Grove house was the family’s dream home. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the blaze, which destroyed the home on the morning of September 2, was caused by an accidental electrical fault.
“It ripped through the house, we’ve lost everything, all our possessions,” Mr Mulder said.
Policy lapsed despite funds in account
Mr Mulder said the insurer told him the policy had been cancelled in late May, due to a lack of funds in his account.
He said he received emails that a direct debit had failed but it would be redrawn in 14 days time.
Having checked his account, he said he ensured there was enough money in the account for the payment to go through.
At the end of the month, the Mulders transferred their policy to their new home.
He said the policy still appeared to be active and he was told the next fee would be debited at the end of June, so he believed everything was in order.
Authorities say the cause of the fire was an electrical fault. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
When his claim was refused, Mr Mulder said the RAC told him they had provided notice of the cancellation by an email, which he insists he never received.
His attempts to appeal were rejected.
“It’s a kick in the guts, you know, we’ve been trying to do it right,” Mr Mulder said.
“I’ve always had everything insured … we’ve always been loyal customers.”
The Mulder family had moved into the home only a few months before, in late May. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Mr Mulder said he also received texts from RAC in May, telling him there were issues with his account.
After receiving these texts he checked his account, and saw there was enough money — he said he assumed the texts were scams.
“Without a house, we’ve just got a very expensive block and no money left to build anything here,” he said.
Rodney Mulder says his family will suffer a massive financial loss. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Insurer declines comment
An RAC spokesperson declined to respond to questions about the Mulder’s situation, citing privacy concerns.
A report from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) released last month found insurance complaints rose four per cent to 29,096 across the country last financial year.
AFCA chief ombudsman David Locke said insurers needed to better deal with customers.
“Our view is that firms could be resolving more complaints themselves, or preventing them in the first place,” he said.
In March this year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued a letter to the heads of insurance companies, telling them floods in 2022 had exposed communications issues while handling claims.
“We expect to see a significantly better response by the industry to the events that have occurred during this summer, and any subsequent events,” Commissioner Alan Kirkland wrote.
