SVP: Insurance firms taking advantage after floods

A CHARITY has warned the Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland that firms are taking advantage of hundreds of people as a direct result of the November floods crisis.

In a letter sent to the independent watchdog, St Vincent de Paul (SVP) said insurance companies are refusing to pay out full claims and are delaying payment to policy holders in Cork, Clare and Galway.

The document from the poverty group’s national president, Máiréad Bushnell, seen by the Irish Examiner, has alleged that people whose homes were destroyed by the floods are having to wait inordinate lengths of time for insurance pay-outs.

In addition, the charity has claimed private residents were forced to return to their homes because they were deemed “structurally sound and fit for occupation post-flooding”, despite the risk of a repeat of the crisis.

The document, sent to the ombudsman last week, further argued that, in some cases, insurance firms have offered pay-outs significantly lower than expected to flood victims.

However, despite the situation, the Irish Insurance Federation has rejected claims firms are acting inappropriately towards flooding victims.

“Flood claims take a long time to decide by their nature, and you have to bear in mind that we had more than 8,500 flood claims relating to November,” Michael Horan of the insurance federation explained.

“Insurance firms have worked very hard to help people during the floods and we have not received any complaints on our helpline, which is 01-6761914.” he said.

The insurance federation has estimated that the combined bill for household, commercial, property and motor claims relating to the crisis could be as high as €244 million, with household insurance claims expected to cost the industry more than €77m.

Of the more than 8,500 claims made by flood victims, more than 4,600 are household, 1,540 are for commercial property and 2,344 are motor cases.

The row over flood-related insurance pay-outs emerged before today’s meeting between the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and the ESB at Leinster House.

The meeting, which follows the political group’s fact-finding mission to the Inniscarra dam in Cork earlier this month, is expected to include a series of responses from ESB to questions surrounding its response to the flooding crisis.

A number of flood victims have confirmed they will travel to Dublin to attend today’s meeting.

They are seeking answers to questions on what happened at the Inniscarra dam on the night of November 19 and specific information on what warning messages were given to members of the public and local authority groups.