ABI moves to defend insurers in wake of criticism on claims settlements

The ABI has moved to defend the insurance industry’s reaction to the winter floods following criticism in an article published in the Mail on Sunday.

The article had criticised insurers for still having not yet paid out on 40% of claims that were made as a result of the storms that hit the UK in January.

But ABI policy director Huw Evans said insurers had been “working round the clock” to repair properties, and that the claims that still remained to be settled were for the minority that had been badly damaged and required further work and assessment.

“60% of the 18,700 flood claims have been fully settled,” he said. “The remainder are the badly flooded homes where insurers are working round the clock to get repairs completed and where required, have arranged emergency accommodation and cash payments for homeowners affected.

“In Somerset, the floods left many properties underwater and inaccessible for weeks. Insurers would only been able to inspect the damage and start the decontaminating and drying out process once it was safe to do so. We have repeatedly warned that it will take between 12-18 months to fully restore the minority of badly flooded properties. The priority for insurers is to ensure that every single victim has their claim fully settled as quickly as possible.”