Key takeaways
- •A business insurance claim after a fire, flood, storm or break-in can take months to decide and pay, while your wages, rent, loan repayments and supplier accounts keep falling due.
- •The General Insurance Code of Practice sets claims deadlines, including a decision within 4 months, only for retail insurance. Commercial property and business interruption cover are not on its retail list, so most business claims have no Code deadline.
- •A short-term private loan from Secured Lending can pay your business's repairs, wages, rent and suppliers while the insurer assesses the claim, and be repaid when the insurer pays.
- •Secured Lending lends against real property owned by your business or a director, never against the insurance claim. The insurance payment is one way your business can repay the loan.
- •The repayment plan for a Secured Lending loan also names the sale or refinance of a property, so the loan can still be repaid if the insurer pays later or less than expected.
- •Secured Lending lends its own funds, in most cases decides in hours, and can settle within 24 hours, well before most insurance claims are paid.
If your business is waiting on an insurance claim after a fire, flood, storm or break-in, the costs of staying open do not wait with it. A short-term private loan backed by property can pay those costs now, and your business repays it when the insurer pays, or from the sale or refinance of a property if the payment is later or smaller than expected.
We would be glad to help. If your business or a director owns property, a private loan is a good fit for this problem, because it can be in place quickly, well before most claims are paid. We lend our own funds, in most cases we decide in hours, and we can settle within 24 hours. The loan funds are paid to your business, which pays the builder, the staff, the landlord and the suppliers, and your business then repays us through a defined exit. You are welcome to talk to us at any stage of the claim.
How long an insurer can take to pay a business claim
The General Insurance Code of Practice sets the claims standards that subscribing insurers commit to. The current Code was last updated in October 2023. A redrafted Code was released for public consultation, and submissions closed on 21 July 2026, so the timeframes below are the ones in force as at October 2026.
For claims the Code covers, part 8 of the Code of Practice document sets these timeframes:
- •Within 10 business days of receiving the claim, where it needs more information or assessment, the insurer tells you what information it needs, appoints a loss assessor or loss adjuster if necessary, and gives an estimate of the timeframe.
- •The insurer updates you on the claim's progress at least every 20 business days.
- •An outside expert whose report the insurer needs is asked to report within 12 weeks of being engaged.
- •The decision is made within 4 months of receiving the claim, or within 12 months in listed exceptions, such as an extraordinary catastrophe, or a claim where you have not responded to the insurer's reasonable requests for information.
Even within those limits, a covered claim that needs an expert report can take three months or more to reach a decision, and the payment follows the decision.
Most business claims sit outside those timeframes
The Code does not apply in full to every policy. Its part 8, which holds the claims timeframes above, does not apply to wholesale insurance. The Code defines retail insurance as a policy for an individual, or for use in connection with a small business, that is one of a listed set of types: motor vehicle, home building, home contents, sickness and accident, consumer credit, travel, and personal and domestic property insurance. Every other policy the Code covers is wholesale insurance.
Insurance over commercial premises and business interruption cover are not among those listed types, so for most business claims there is no Code timeframe for the decision. Your broker can confirm which applies to your policy.
What to ask your broker about the payment date
The date the claim is decided is not always the date the money reaches your business account. Ask your broker these questions early, because the answers set the term of any loan:
- •When is each part of the claim likely to be paid: the building, the contents and stock, and any business interruption cover?
- •Will the insurer reimburse repair work that starts before it approves the scope of works?
- •Does any part of the building payment go to a lender that holds a mortgage over the damaged premises?
- •Will the insurer pay in stages, and what triggers each payment?
We are a lender, not an insurance broker or a lawyer. What to claim, how to read the policy wording and how to dispute a decision are questions for your broker, your lawyer or the insurer's complaints process.
How a private loan funds the gap
The loan pays for what your business needs while the claim is assessed: a builder's deposit and materials, a temporary fit-out, wages, rent, supplier accounts, and repayments on existing loans that keep falling due while the doors are shut. Our emergency business loans are built for this kind of sudden cost. If the first pressure is the next pay run, our page on an urgent short term loan to pay your staff on payday covers that deadline.
We lend against real property, never against the insurance claim or the policy. The security is a first or second mortgage over residential, commercial or industrial property owned by your business or a director, such as a director's home or investment property, or another commercial or industrial property your business owns. The insurance payment is one of the ways the loan can be repaid.
| Loan feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Borrower | Your business, as a company, including a company acting as trustee |
| Loan size | From $250,000, with larger loans assessed case by case |
| Interest rate | From 9.7% p.a. on most of our loans, from 9.95% p.a. for emergency business loans, and from 11.95% p.a. for a second mortgage |
| Term | 1 to 24 months, typically 3 to 6 months |
| Security | A first or second mortgage over residential, commercial or industrial property |
| Maximum loan-to-value ratio | 70%. On a second mortgage, 70% is the combined figure for the existing loan and ours. A second property can be added as security within the same 70% |
| Repayment | Your business repays the loan to us through a defined exit, such as the insurance payment, the sale of a property or a refinance |
Set the term to run past the realistic payment date your broker gives you, not the date you hope for. With terms of up to 24 months, there is room to do that.
If the insurer pays later, or pays less
This is the worry most owners carry while a claim is open, and the structure of the loan answers it. Because the loan is secured by property and not by the claim, the repayment plan can name a second source: the sale of a property, or a refinance. If the insurer pays the full amount on time, the payment repays the loan. If it pays less, the loan is repaid from a mix of the payment and one of those sources. If the payment date moves, tell us early.
A long claim can also leave marks on the credit file, such as a missed supplier payment or a late loan repayment during the shutdown. Our bad credit business loans page explains how we lend where a credit file shows defaults or arrears.
Frequently asked questions
Can I borrow against my insurance claim?
We lend against real property, not against the claim. The loan is secured by a first or second mortgage over property your business or a director owns, and the insurance payment can be how the loan is repaid.
What happens if the insurer pays less than expected?
The loan is repaid from the sale or refinance of a property instead, or from a mix of the payment and one of those. That second source is agreed as part of the exit before settlement.
Can the insurer pay me an advance instead?
For claims under retail insurance, the Code says that where the event that caused the claim has also left you in urgent financial need, the insurer will fast-track the claim, pay an advance within 5 business days after you demonstrate that need, or both. Ask your broker whether your policy is covered. An advance and a loan can work together, because an advance may cover part of the costs and the loan the rest.
What can the loan pay for?
The loan can pay repairs, a temporary fit-out, wages, rent, supplier accounts and repayments on existing loans while the claim is assessed. Where the money goes is the purpose of the loan, and the security is always property.
How Secured Lending Can Help
We would be glad to help your business keep paying its staff, its landlord and its suppliers while the insurer assesses the claim. Our loan gives your business the funds now, secured by a first or second mortgage over property your business or a director owns, and your business repays us when the insurer pays, or from the sale or refinance of a property if the payment is later or smaller.
A private loan suits this problem because a claim can take months and the costs fall due every week. We lend our own funds and our in-house team values the property, so nothing waits on an outside valuer. In most cases we decide in hours, we issue a letter of offer as soon as terms are agreed, and we can settle within 24 hours.
We provide short-term loans backed by real property. If you would like us to look at your situation, it helps to have these to hand:
- •What happened, the date of the event and the stage the claim has reached.
- •The insurer's and your broker's latest correspondence, and the broker's estimate of when each part of the claim will be paid.
- •What the loan needs to pay, and by when.
- •The property that could back the loan, its estimated value and any loan on it.
- •How your business plans to repay the loan if the payment is later or smaller than expected.
You are welcome to call us on 1300 795 175 to talk it through, or send the details through and we will come back to you. In most cases, we can tell you within hours whether we can help.
