A day in the life of a Suncorp event assessor
On the afternoon of October 31st, 2020, devastating hailstorms ripped through parts of South East Queensland, tearing people’s homes apart. Suncorp Event Assessing Advisor Grant Beck, shares what it was like working with residents in the storm’s aftermath.
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Grant Beck has seen it all during his career as an Event Assessor. “I have seen cyclones, bushfires, floods, pretty much everything that can happen in the disaster and events space,” he said. “I've seen the worst of the worst I think.”
Grant hit the ground running after joining the Suncorp team in early 2020. “I went down to Sydney to help with the storm event there in February and flooding on the New South Wales Central Coast,” he said.
Saturday the 31st of October 2020 was election day in Queensland. As the votes were being counted, storm clouds started to roll in over parts of the state’s South East. The suburbs of Springfield Lakes and Greenbank were pelted with cricket ball-sized hail. Entire streets were evacuated. All residents could do was take cover and wait for the storms to pass.
“The only way to describe it was a disaster zone,” explains Grant.
“In my time as an assessor, it’s the worst widespread damage I’ve seen – especially in such a defined local area. There was lots of damage to tiled roofs, where we could see clearly into the roof cavity, ceilings had collapsed and a lot of people just didn't know what to do next.”
Grant and his team were on the ground early on Sunday morning to commence immediate work. “Definitely seeing a Suncorp green shirt walk down the road was calming to some people,” he said. “The first meeting with a customer is crucial. We walk them through the process from start to finish and guide them through what's going to happen next.”
Definitely seeing a green shirt walk down the road was calming to some people,
This ability to help people when they are at their most vulnerable is one of the many aspects of the job Grant enjoys.
“Every customer you meet is different. You meet people from all walks of life and everybody has a different story,” he said.
“Every day is different too. You never know what’s going to happen from one day to the next. You never know what the weather is going to throw at us.”
