It's a mistake anyone could make. During the school holidays in April 2021, Denise was rushing out the door with her three kids, but she forgot to do one small thing – turn off the toasted sandwich maker. What followed this small oversight had a major impact on the family.
While driving to a friend's house, Denise got a call from a neighbour saying her house was on fire. Shocked, she and the kids returned home to see firefighters on the roof and neighbours gathered on the street. The family pets – two dogs, a budgie and a mother cat with three kittens – were still inside the house.
"My kids were beside themselves, they were so upset," says Denise, an early childhood teacher. "The firefighters carried the dogs out and they were given oxygen, and then they rescued the tiny kittens and the mother cat. The cat could have escaped out an open window, but she stayed to protect her babies."
The budgie and one of the kittens died on the scene, and the two other kittens had to be given mouth-to-mouth because they were too small for oxygen masks. They survived, along with both dogs, but the mother cat suffered brain damage and had to be put down.
The family were understandably upset, and with just the clothes on their backs – plus a few extras from the washing line – they went to stay with neighbours. It was harrowing, but Denise tried to stay calm.
"All I could think was, 'I'm a single mum and I can't be upset right now because my children are devastated'. I just hugged my kids, then I called AMI and said, 'My house is on fire and I think we've lost everything. What do I do?'"
At 9am the next day, our AMI Loss Assessor was on the scene. Although some of the concrete foundations were undamaged, the assessor confirmed everything inside was unsalvageable, having been damaged by fire, smoke, soot and water from the firefighters' hoses. A $2000 interim payment was immediately approved.
"We had nothing – no food, no toothbrushes, no bedding, no pillows," says Denise. "People from the community gave us food and donated clothing and furniture. We were so grateful for that support and the emergency fund from AMI kept us going."
We then talked Denise through the larger contents claim – a detailed process when your entire life’s worth of belongings has been destroyed. Professional cleaners were also sent in to remove all fire-damaged items from the home.
"Walking through the house was hard," recalls Denise. "Everything was covered in thick black soot. One of my sons was crying his heart out. He said to me, 'I know it was just stuff, but it was my stuff'. I had to be strong, so I didn't cry in front of the kids. I saved all my crying for the shower."
Alternative accommodation costs were approved so Denise could rent a house while contractors rebuilt her home. A year later the family were able to move into their brand new home, having been rebuilt like-for-like. Denise and her children planted fruit trees in the garden in memory of the pets that died.
"We tried to turn it into a positive experience," says Denise. "It was a hard time, but AMI was so good. Every time I called, they always seemed focused on how they could make things easier for me.
"You never understand how important insurance is until you really need it."
