Bid to get Dáil to probe insurers’ treatment of flood victims

Cork county councillors are to write to two ministers and the chairman of a Dáil committee urging them to investigate claims that businesses and householders hit by last summer’s floods are being unfairly treated by some insurance companies.

Fine Gael councillors John O’Sullivan and Deirdre Forde yesterday supplied county manager Martin Riordan with detailed information about people who saw their insurance premiums soar since the catastrophic Jun 28 floods, despite the fact insurance companies have now refused them flood cover.

Mr O’Sullivan said that one businessman’s premium prior to the flood was just under €16,000, but had risen to more than €24,000 “and that’s without any flood cover”.

“If health insurance companies adopted the same policy, then once a person gets sick they won’t be covered again. This is unacceptable,” said Mr O’Sullivan.

“Other insurance companies will then not quote for flood cover either and that’s price fixing in my mind. The insurance industry is supposed to cover risk, a blanket ‘no’ to flood cover isn’t good enough.”

Mr Forde said elderly people couldn’t afford the premium hikes insurance companies were imposing and spoke of a businesswoman who won’t be able to continue her business in Douglas for the same reason.

“It’s downright disgraceful the treatment some people have got. There has to be an independent body vetting the insurance industry,” Cllr Noel O’Driscoll (FG) said.

His party colleague Cllr Dermot Sheehan said the only exemptions for the forthcoming property tax were people whose houses were built with pyrite.

“We should also seek an exemption for people failing to get flood cover from insurance companies,” he said.

Cllr Noel Costello (Lab) pointed out there was a no-claims discount for car insurance but none for house insurance.

Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) said insurance companies won’t insure even in areas where the council had undertaken some flood prevention works.

County manager Martin Riordan said the insurance industry should spread cover across premiums, through some sort of a levy which would enable those in flood-risk areas get cover.

The council is to write to Finance Minister Michael Noonan and Environment Minister Phil Hogan, as well as the environment chairman Deputy Michael McCarthy asking them to investigate the insurance companies actions.