Written by Interesting news article from the BBC, which has some alarming facts on climate change and how it is impacting on natural disasters, including our area of interest: flooding.
Technorati Tags: BBC, climate change, flooding, natural disasters
Monthly archives for December, 2008
Media Roundup
The removal and replacement of the bridge at Green Tree Brae in Freuchie got a mention in both the Fife Herald and The Courier this week.
Our last blog post on the ABI – Scottish Government Insurance Agreement on flooding got a mention in today’s Courier.
Good to see Freuchie Flood Action Group and our campaign being kept in the press. We need to again express our gratitude at the continuing support of the journalists at both newspapers.
Technorati Tags: ABI, Fife, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Scottish Goverment
Good News on Flood Insurance
Some good news for the flood survivors of Freuchie, and other areas of Fife and Scotland affected by flooding, came yesterday when the Scottish Government and the insurance industry reached a joint agreement that will give homes and businesses greater protection.
The Scottish Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have agreed to work together to minimise the flood risks and to help people quicker when flooding occurs.
Read the full announcement here.
Editorial Comment:
This is a very welcome development as the recent withdrawal of the previous agreement between the UK government and the insurance industry could have resulted in major problems with obtaining affordable insurance in a flood risk area.
Additionally, this should improve the current situation where most flood survivors are traumatised by the flood event, but then face ongoing stress and frustration from dealing with the insurance industry and their service providers, more particularly the assessors, builders and project managers. This press release from the National Flood Forum covers this subject in more detail.
It will also make for a controversial talking point in our forthcoming talk from the Association of British Insurers… more details of the talk coming soon.
We will be watching with interest to see how this translates into affordable policy renewals and the on the ground delivery of services from local authorities, the insurance industry and the service providers involved in the clear-up and reinstatement work that follows a flood event.
Technorati Tags: ABI, Association of British Insurers, Fife, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Scottish Government
Car Insurance Woes
I thought I’d share a little story with everyone so you know to shop around for your insurance this year.
The car taken from me in the August flood event was a boy racer class Subaru Impreza (otherwise known as a Scooby). I’ve got nothing but praise for my insurers at the time, who handled the claim swiftly and efficiently, even if I did have to push them to up their write-off offer. They did eventually, after a short delay, come up with market value for the car.
Aware of the high cost of insurance and running costs for the Scooby I opted for a boring, economical, safe and planet saving Citroen C5 Diesel as a replacement. It is at least a couple of insurance groups less than the Scooby and I have protected no claims, so I was actually looking forward to paying less for the car insurance this coming year.
However, the renewal came through the door and to say I was shocked is a complete understatement! The current insurer has come back with a quote of £472 on a policy that should have been much lower than last years. Various expletives filled the air when that letter was opened last week! I even contacted them for an explanation and after a few minutes they came back with a statement along the lines of, “the price is the price”.
Not content with just renewing the policy and giving away good money for this inflated premium I shopped around on one of the price comparison websites, MoneySuperMarket to be exact. The difference in quotes was startling, with some as low as £250 for the same level of cover.
To all you car flood victims, do remember to shop around for your car insurance if it seems to have gone up substantially following your flood claim.
Regards
John A Thomson
Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group
& Freuchie Mill Flood Survivor
Technorati Tags: car insurance, Fife, flood, flooding, Freuchie, insurance
