Last year’s summer floods brought a lot misery to people in the UK as they watched their homes and businesses collapse under the force of the ravaging downpour.
Described as the worst disaster to befall the country in half a century, 55,000 homes and businesses were devastated in England and Wales. And the insurance industry made payouts worth over £3 billion, which forced many insurers to introduce higher home insurance premiums.
Precisely, between the months of June and July last year, reports said, nearly 200, 000 claims were made to insurers. And because of the sharp rise in number of such claims, they always led to disputes. On the whole in 2007 there were 2,516 complaints compared to 1,908 in 2006.
Early in the year, following flash floods that wreaked havoc in parts of the country, the government and experts sufficiently advised property owners on the precautionary measures they needed to take, well in advance of what has become a yearly event – summer floods.
But a shocking finding by the Sainsbury’s Home Insurance showed that, in spite of the horrific experience of homeowners after the catastrophe struck the previous year, up to 1.78 million people in the UK were still not insured. And a further 656,000 admitted they were not sure if they had the right cover.
Commenting on the revelation Sainsbury’s Home Insurance Manager, Neil Laird, said it was alarming, even as he warned that many households faced risks from storm.
Similarly, another research by Moneysupermarket.com found that over two million homes in the UK were on flood plains and that 900, 000 uninsured homes were at risk of flooding.
As summer drew closer, more of such findings were made and experts, including government advisers, continued to warn homeowners of the risks they faced, especially if there was a repeat of the disaster.
Against the backdrop of last year floods Sir Michael Pitt’s report warned that the country needed to be better prepared. In addition he tasked the government, councils and the public to take the issue seriously.
Although this report was trailed by responses that were both negative and positive, the truth of the matter is that Sir Michael has been vindicated, as floods began wreaking havoc at end of last month, probably as a prelude to what is to be expected in the summer.
On the night of Thursday, 29 May flash floods again devastated parts of the west country, forcing hundreds of people to be evacuated. In Somerset many residents were heavily hit. And forecasters said the devastation was continuing as heaving rain tore through Somerset to parts of Devon.
The whole scenario reminded of the floods that left tears and sorrow in its trail in 2007. Experts in the insurance industry warned that damage caused to homes and business premises could be extensive with renovation costs totalling up to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The floods also led to the cancellation of Sunrise festival in Somerset. Even the fire fighters that battled against it reportedly described it their busiest night in living history.
Those whose properties were affected, the Association of British Insurance advised, should contact their insurer as soon as possible and further cautioned them on using electricity and water supplies until the all clear had been given. It also advised property owners to take photographs of the damage before claiming on their home insurance.
Director of general insurance, Nick Starling said: “These events highlight just how important insurance protection is. If you have been affected by flooding, contact your insurance company. Their priority is to deal with all claims as quickly as possible.”
The issue here is that it’s only who were properly insured that were in position to make claims. Those who considered insurance protection unnecessary and took the risks headlong were bound to lose out. This happened to many people in 2007 and could happen to many again as the threats of floods remain real.
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