House flooding – will insurers help with my claim?

Last week there was severe rainfall which the surface water system was unable to cope with. Many will have suffered dirty water flooding in their home, and will now be wondering whether their insurers will deliver on their promises.

Often, insurers quickly appoint drying companies to quickly attend and install mitigation measures to prevent more damage. In reality, this is a PR exercise in keeping the policyholder happy – while understaffed insurers move onto the next call.

I have seen many occasions where policyholders get left for weeks with drying equipment that isn’t really moving their claim forward.

Insurers are reluctant to strip out the property as this becomes costly when they have to reinstate, and they would rather try and dry for months than bite the bullet.

ICS understand that stripping out the property is important.

Dirty black water can cause mould and fungus, which is increased by the heat of drying. Unless exposed, this in turn can cause further problems once insurers have closed the claim.

You may return to your insurers with a claim for further damage, only to be told it it doesn’t relate to the first incident.

If you have any concerns over your insurer’s approach to flood insurance claims, drying or strip out – or they have not scoped the repair property.

Please contact us for a free consultation.