Storm insurance costs hitting the roof

The roofs of up to 1.5 million homes in the UK have been hit by storms in the past year, costing consumers £4.5 billion in repairs, according to insurance experts.

Research from Halifax Home Insurance shows that the average cost of repairing wind damage has risen to £2,800, which equates to 12 per cent of the average British salary.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: “Homeowners without adequate buildings insurance cover risk finding a huge hole blown in their finances by the cost of repairs.”

He added that the increasing number of incidents of extreme weather conditions, such as wind and flood, “make it more vital than ever for homeowners to take proactive steps to protect their financial and physical security before disaster strikes”.

Further findings from the firm reveal that the average affected house needs 127 tiles replacing, a figure which equates to more than 200 million across Britain.

Meanwhile a study in Germany predicts that financial losses incurred by bad weather could rise to 37 per cent in the UK.

Tags: huge hole, halifax, disaster strikes, security, Financial economics, year, storms, adequate buildings insurance

Flood claims ‘could total £1 billion’

Claims made by the thousands of Britons who have been affected by the recent floods and storms could total some £1 billion, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has commented.

The figure follows estimates by the ABI that 27,000 homes and 5,000 businesses experienced damage as a result of the recent inclement conditions.

Extra insurers are already being redeployed to visit properties as quickly as possible, the ABI’s director general Stephen Haddrill said, but even with these emergency measures “normal standards of service” could not be delivered.

Outlining how older customers, those with health difficulties and families were being supported first, Mr Haddrill added: “We hope that other people can bear with us as we work through the backlog. We will reach everyone as soon as we can.”

Insurer Zurich says it has received more than 2,600 claims in the last ten days as a result of the flooding and has flown in loss-adjusters from the Europe, US and Australia to cope with the problem.

Jon Cawley, UK property claims operations manager for Zurich, said: “This flooding is taking longer to clear than previous flooding, for example in Boscastle three years ago.”

Tags: Outlining, claims operations, storms, operations manager, Types of insurance, Zurich, flooding