As ex-tropical cyclone Alfred edged closer to the coast, Lismore resident Elizabeth Mackney felt a rising wave of anxiety.
Just weeks before, she finally received an insurance payout for the devastation floodwaters wreaked on her home in 2022 and was worried she would have to go through it all again.
Thankfully, this time her home was spared but she warns residents who have so far filed 34,000 insurance claims related to Alfred to brace for a long road ahead.
"Prepare for it not to be easy. It feels like you're representing yourself in court," Ms Mackney told AAP.
"The trauma of dealing with NRMA after the flood has been so much worse than the flood itself."
Ms Mackney has decorated her home with fairy lights and foil streamers to conceal damage to her kitchen, living area, dining room, swimming pool and other sections.
She filed an insurance claim within a week of the flood but has been living in the "inhabitable" home with her son for the past three years while waiting for compensation, after her now-estranged husband and other children moved away.
Ms Mackney and her insurer disagreed on the cost of repairs and the dispute landed with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority in early 2023, which ruled substantially in her favour.
"It just went round and round in circles, shifted from different people," she said.
Ms Mackney believes her case "fell through the cracks" and wished all insurers offering coverage for traumatic events rolled out appropriate training for staff.
"If you are selling products that cover somebody from natural disasters, when that happens you actually need to have people who are trained to deal and talk with people who are experiencing really profound trauma," she said.
She urged flood-hit communities to stay vigilant and not be afraid to reject an initial cash payment if they don't believe it will cover the cost of recovery.
"Write down every conversation you have, write down the date, time, all the things that are discussed, take photos, all of that kind of stuff," she said.
"It requires a really high level of confidence in terms of understanding, in terms of communication, literacy, all of those things."
An NRMA Insurance spokesperson said changes had recently been made to improve interactions with vulnerable customers, including training for frontline staff and partner builders.
"We are disappointed that our customer has had this experience and we have apologised for the delay in finalising their claim and the stress caused during the process," the company said in a statement.
"We have made significant changes across the business since the 2022 floods, which will help support customers and communities across southeast Queensland and northern NSW affected by ex-tropical cyclone Alfred."
The NRMA said the claims team had been bolstered and partner builder network scaled up so properties hit by Alfred can be repaired as soon as possible, with representatives on the ground in recovery centres and mobile response vehicles.
Most claims filed for Alfred relate to water damage or food spoilage from power outages with almost $2.4 million in emergency payments made to 6000 customers so far, according to the Insurance Council of Australia.
Despite Lismore frequently coming under threat from natural disasters Ms Mackney is determined to stay in the community she has lived in for more than 20 years and restore her home.
"I love this house and I love where we live, it's beautiful when it doesn't have it's scary moments," she said.
