Standing up for insurers

I watched an interesting documentary last night about the aftermath of the widespread flooding of the Somerset Levels.

I think it is fair to say that the insurance industry were pretty poorly represented within this programme and as a result came out if it shabbily. Whilst sometimes our industry does its best to shoot itself in the foot, on this occasion I feel it necessary to defend the insurers.

These were once in 250 year rain levels leading to massive flooding and it seems to me that, on the whole, viewing from a distance, that most households were treated well by their insurers. The only representation of the industry in the programme was a loss adjuster, clearly run ragged by the workload, who seemed to be "just doing his job".

One family were shown whose flood claim had been rejected by their insurer as they had not disclosed the presence of a local watercourse. I don't know the individual circumstances but one would suggest that this question was presented as a block of assumptions and a box was ticked without really reading these assumptions. It appears that the insurers were not asked for their comments.

There was also a comment made that those households that were having the repairs carried out by insurers were much more prone to delays and hassles than those households that were not insured. It seems that the uninsured homes had the repairs carried out by a big-hearted local building contractor who provided the labour for free. Obviously this was a great result for those without insurance but one wonders as to the efficacy of the repairs as one of the chief delays in repairs from flooding lies in the drying out process. Might I suggest that the voluntary contractors may not have allowed for enough time for the property to dry, leading to potential problems further down the line?

Overall, whilst portraying the desperate situation that these householders were left in, I think the representation of the insurance industry was very one sided. Certainly, if you have paid to make sure that your insurance is arranged correctly, these problems should not present themselves. It was also a good demonstration to show the value of appointing your own loss adjuster to act on your behalf to manage these kinds of claims. This is something that a good insurance broker will suggest you insure against to ensure you get the best possible outcome for this kind of disastrous situation.

If you feel that your business or home is not adequate protected against any potential risk then I would be happy to discuss this with you and either provide peace of mind or a solution to your shortfall.