Floods and No Insurance

[flip_flop]

I have seen on the news people complaining that they thought they would get help from 'the authorities' for their losses - these people haven't bothered to buy insurance.

Am I alone in thinking sod 'em? House insurance is reasonably cheap and if they can't be arsed to buy it then it is their bloody problem, nobody elses.

They interviewed one chav who had a dirty great big 40 odd inch plasma on the wall - so they can spend thousands on a TV but not a couple of hundred quid on insurance.

As I say - sod 'em: I hope the authorities don't bail them out (not that I expect they will) - these bloody people should take responsibility for their own lives.

Grrrr.

[Aquagility]

I don't quite go as far as flip_flop on this, but I do think that people have a responsibility to insure their homes.

There may be some who simply cannot get insurance because of their vulnerable location. For these few I think that there should be a national scheme of insurance, backed and if necessary subsidised by the government.

If all the uninsured were to be bailed out by the taxpayer, who would bother to insure in future?

[flip_flop]

Yep, fair enough, I can get on board with that - but only if there is NO insurance available.

[Gromit]

True, there are places where it is difficult to get insurance, but I do not think that applies in the affected areas of Yorkshire. The blighted areas have no history of this kind of thing so I think we can safely assume people made a judgement whether to buy insurance or not, and those that did not cannot reasonably expect the Council and National tax payers to bail them out. Hard cheese (or soggy Wensleydale).

[mushroom25]

If the uninsured were to be baled out, the insurance industry are likely to stop offering flood damage insurance, on the not unreasonable assumption that the government will sort it.

[jno]

It looks possible that people in the affected areas, even if they have insurance now, are going to see their premiums jump when they come to renew; and newcomers may find it hard to get any at all, as the area has now been shown to be vulnerable. What happens then? Will the towns just be slowly left to die? Should they be? I don't have an answer but I suspect the government will need to think about it. Climate change means this is likely to happen more often and in more places.

[pollyspeed]

couldnt agree more flipflop!!!! its about time people started being responsible for their own actions,or in this case in- actions, no-one seems to be responsible for anything these days.i am a single parent and even though i work full time money is still tight.i have lived in a council property and in a housing association property and they all do really low rate insurance policies so even if the people affected in yorkshire were on really low income in rented accommodation there is affordable insurance out there.i noticed also the plush furnishings in these properties they all had plasma tv , big leather suites etc. and if they are on such low income and cant afford to replace these things then wouldnt insurance have been top of the shopping list? oh,i forgot,we live in nanny state dont we where everyone else will sort it all out for them while they tell their sob story on the tv and in the papers!!!! makes my blood boil

[wired]

Of course the country should help but I think that every household should have insurance ( as with cars).I also think that planning officers,surveyors and builders should be financially penalised for newish properties that have been built on flood plains,water meadows etc.

[kwicky]

We have known about this problem for some years now but what have the government done about it? Our flood defences are risible and someone in DEFRA suggested letting the surplus water into specially designed flood plains by removing the sea wall. How crazy can you get? The answer was that it would encourage more sea birds to take residence on our shores to breed. Isn't it about time they worried about the human population instead?
PS The government are to allow an extra �200m next year to sort out the problem. Compare that with the �5 billion spent on Iraq and Afghanistan.

[xanderma]

What you seem to be missing here is that many of the people in Hull can't get insurance, not because they live in high risk flood areas, but because they live in some of the most deprived and desperate areas of the city and insurance companies won't look at them. So yes, they may have been able to afford that "dirty great big plasma" but that doesn't necessarily mean that they were negligent about their insurance.

And before I get slated for being on my high horse, can I also say that on the flip side, there are many people who could have insured but didn't - and to start with I was like flip_flop, saying why should we bother to help - but now I've seen first hand the complete devastation and desperation they've suffered, I realise they've more than paid the price for their bad value-judgement and they deserve any help they can get.

[mightyWBA]

Totally agree flip flop.
I've paid buildings and contents insurance for 20 years and never claimed a penny.
My current premium is �11 a month.
That doesn't buy much booze or fags in a month does it?
Why should these people who couldn't be bothered to pay for insurance get kitted out with a whole new load of gear when they get a bit wet.
Stuff 'em.
I've had a great idea,I won't insure my car next year,drive it into the canal,and get a new one off the government.

[xanderma]

mightyWBA - GET A BIT WET!!!!???!!! Have you seen what's happened over here?? It could happen anywhere, even to you - this is not a known risk area for flooding, yet over 10000 homes in Hull alone have been affected - not just a bit wet, but 4' of water - and not clean water either, raw sewage in most cases. Show some compassion for goodness sake.

[frankief]

I've seen coverage on the TV of the Gordon Brown visit and I am sceptical that a lot of these freeloaders are just playing the compensation game. I saw one woman claiming that she needed a new suite (her old one looked better condition than mine) and a freezer full of meat was lost (was that Iceland burgers or Farmfoods?). Got me thinking, if I got notification of a possible flood I would get valuable stuff upstairs(obviously) and maybe resign myself to needing a new carpet and possible electrical rewiring to any affected sockets - and my first call would be to my insurance company, not the council, govt etc. Like flipflop says some of these shameless lot are hoping for a few grand 'compo' to spend on plasma tvs and mini motorbikes - and they will get it.

[Oneeyedvic]

I must say that although my heart does go out to the people affected by the storms, I do feel that the whole problem is being over exaggerated and embellished.

The comparisons in the tabloids with New Orleans would be laughable if it wasn't so sick - how you can compare this flooding to one where around 1500 people died is beyond me.

xanderma - not sure why you think insurance companies will not insure in deprived areas - I did a quick google search and found these pictures: http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/displ ayNode.jsp?nodeId=222592&command=newPage&Slide showId=54469
I then went on to confused.com and got a quote for buildings & contents for this street and it came out at less than �250.00 for a 3 bed house.

[xanderma]

Oneeyedvic, I'm not sure what I'm looking for on the link you posted.

However, I don't just think people can't get insurance, I know it for a fact.

And for frankief, it wasn't possible for everyone to move possessions upstairs because
(a) people in bungalows didn't have an upstairs to move to
(b) many people affected are elderly and couldn't physically manage to move anything
(c) there was no real warning of what was going to happen and no one expected it to be as bad as it was. Would you really haul your 3-piece suite upstairs whenever it forecast rain, just in case?

Yes, there will be people trying to pull a fast one here, as there would everywhere, but there are genuine cases as well. My own personal opinion is that the money allocated by the government will be used up mostly on repairs and the uninsured will only be given the basics - there simply won't be enough for any more than that - which is how I believe it should be.

I'd be interested to know what part of the country you're all in? Because you really shouldn't pass judgement until you see the situation first hand, and believe me, a few pictures on the local press's website cannot begin to convey how bad it's been.

[warpig3]

frankief, my sentiments exactly, while I understand that these people will suffer hardship, what did they do to prevent some of it? I was watching a report and and all the ruined furniture had been dumped in the front garden, some of which included tv's and table and chairs. Now if I though my house was going to flood I would move whatever was humanly possibly up stairs, this would include my tv, table and chairs and anything else I could carry.

[Pirate1]

i live quarter of a mile from one of the affected areas. Now, these areas have not been flooded in over 200 years so insurance is available. I am single parent on tight budget and my FIRST priority is house and contents insurance. Haven't had a holiday in 15 years because things are so tight but still got my insurance. Bet most of those people on tv have had annual holidays, smoke and drink. Priorities is what I say! However, if people have insured and the companies are finding loop holes then maybe something could be arranged for them to make up any shortfall because it was REALLY bad and it was sewage.

[Pirate1]

PS. Is there a fund out there for people who haven't been able to afford a holiday because they've been paying for responsible things?

[Oneeyedvic]

xanderma "Oneeyedvic, I'm not sure what I'm looking for on the link you posted. - very simply I went onto a local paper site and got the first street name that I could - from there I obtained a postcode and put it into confused.com for a home insurance quote. There was not an issue.

However, I don't just think people can't get insurance, I know it for a fact. - excellent - maybe you can provide me with an address or postcode so I can verify this then.

I live in Great Yarmouth (also a socially deprived area) which had flooding a few months back due to similar circumstances - I was not personally affected however there was nothing in the media about getting other tax payers to pay as people couldn't be bothered getting their home's insured.

[shaneystar2]

I live just down the road from you Oneeyedvic over the bridge and we were affected last year from the storms in August .Not as badly as some people in Yarmouth though.But to be fair in this case the water company was at fault through not maintaining the pumping station and keeping the gullies clear.
However even though we are insured getting the money out of the insurance company for the repairs was a nightmare . Because they are being hit with a lot of claims they will find any loophole to avoid paying out .
We were so annoyed with them because they messed us about that we have changed our insurer but believe me we had a lot of difficulty getting new cover and our premium is now sky high .And that episode was the one and only time we have ever claimed on our insurance in all our married life of 35 years .
I do agree though that if you can afford a plasma television you should be able to afford insurance .It's still not nice though when your home and all you have worked for is ruined so i do have some sympathy with these people .

[Oneeyedvic]

Hi Shaney - good to see you about still - sorry that you were affected

As mentioned in my first post - of course I have sympathy with the people - everyone is aware of what insurance is though - and if you are prepared to save the money by not buying it, then I'm afraid you have to reap the problems that follow.