After historic levels of persistent heavy rain and flash flooding impacted Australia's east coast, dangerous road conditions caused an influx of panicked call outs to global assistance company, Allianz Global Assistance. While flat tyres, dead batteries and technical jobs are his usual day-to-day, roadside assistance driver Claud Bader recalls his most challenging experiences during the recent floods.

Please find Claud’s story and quotes below, and imagery attached. Looking forward to seeing if this is of interest.

Claud Bader

An Allianz Global Assistance driver of four years, Syrian-born Claud came to Sydney, Australia via a refugee visa with his wife and two children.

Claud previously worked in hospitality before joining Allianz Global Assistance upon his arrival in Australia, a role that taps into his passion for helping others.

“Being an Allianz Global Assistance driver is incredibly fulfilling because I can help people in challenging situations. I previously volunteered with the Syrian Fire Rescue team so this role feeds into my love of helping and connecting with others.”

In February 2022 when the historic floods inundated Sydney, Claud recalled his experience helping a stranded driver.

“I was driving toward Frenchs Forest from Sydney’s inner city for a call out job and there was very heavy traffic due to the intense rain and flooding. I saw a number of cars were beginning to sink in flood waters, including that of a woman who was frantically waving her hands asking for help.

“I immediately jumped out of my car in the heavy rain, and saw she was struggling to carry her fourteen-year-old son who was physically disabled out of the car amid the rising flood waters. She explained she had called her roadside assistance provider to help with a flat tyre, but the first driver who’d arrived two hours earlier refused to change the tyre due to the thick mud and rising water levels. The water levels had now risen to the windows, leaving them both stranded. After gaining approval from my manager, I informed the customer I was originally on my way to rescue, that I would be running 30 minutes behind, and thankfully they were safe and dry at home. I hiked up the hems of my pants and ploughed through deep mud to reach her flooded car.

“I carried her son safely to my assistance vehicle, turned on the heater to warm him up and then I used my towing rope to get her car safely to her friend’s driveway, which was only 100 metres away.

“It was a pretty traumatic rescue, particularly for the young man. The mother was extremely grateful I took the time to help her and her son out despite her not being a client of ours.

“I feel extremely humbled that I was able to help her and her son. Stories like these remind me why I love my job with Allianz Global Assistance.

“The beauty of servicing the Northern Sydney area is that I encounter repeat customers from time to time. I always try to establish long-term, friendly relationships with all clients, ensuring they feel taken care of from the get-go. Many love to have a chat and ask for advice on their vehicle during a call out, and I always try to go that extra mile by doing a quick check of the vehicle and pointing out any other potential issues for the client, so they don’t have any nasty surprises.”

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Allianz Partners is a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, offering global solutions that span international health and life, travel insurance, automotive and assistance. Customer driven, our innovative experts are redefining insurance services by delivering future-ready, high-tech high-touch products and solutions that go beyond traditional insurance. Our products are embedded seamlessly into our partners’ businesses or sold directly to customers, and are available through two commercial brands in Australia: Allianz Global Assistance and Allianz Care. Present in over 75 countries, our 19,400 employees speak 70 languages, handle over 58 million cases each year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to offer peace of mind to our customers around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.allianzpartners.com.au