How insurance helped Yungaburra FoodWorks
Phil and Kate Mete’s livelihood was plunged into uncertainty when an early morning fire destroyed their supermarket in the tiny town of Yungaburra in the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland.
The Metes held stock and contents insurance and business interruption insurance with QBE. This cover allowed them to get their business, Yungaburra Foodworks, back up and trading from temporary accommodation within three weeks of the fire.
QBE claims experts and local Elders agents worked together to ensure Phil and Kate could keep their business afloat while rebuilding for the future.
“Being out of business for 12 months or more makes it basically impossible to commit to your debts,” Kate Mete explains.
“I think that's what insurance was really good at,” said Phil Mete. “It got the ball moving very quickly.
The QBE team, led by Claims Service Manager Adam Larsen, worked to support the Metes during the claims process.
“We made regular payments every three months to make sure that there was a cash flow for the business,” Larsen said.
“Our claims team ingrain themselves in our customers’ businesses to make sure they get a deep understanding of what’s impacting our customers and what they're going to need from us. They ensure that there is constant communication between our customer, our agents, our suppliers and back to QBE.”
Business Interruption Insurance reportMore than a third of small businesses see losing clients as the biggest risk to their cashflow, according to research by QBE Insurance. Read QBE’s latest Business Risk Report and find out how business interruption insurance can help keep small businesses trading when the unexpected happens:
