Insurer keen to play part in national forum on flood planning
AXA has welcomed the Pitt report and has strongly endorsed the recommendation that local authorities should create drainage maps.
David Williams, claims director at AXA Insurance, welcomed Sir Michael Pitt’s report, saying: “We are pleased that he says that the insurance industry has generally responded well to the 2007 floods: it has been a challenging time and we have been doing our utmost to help our policyholders throughout. We will continue to make every effort to provide the best possible support.
"We would be very keen to help formulate voluntary guidance to cover reasonable expectations of service performance from insurers. We have already done a lot of work with our customers, the broking community and local communities to help those affected understand how to mitigate the risk of flooding in future. AXA would also like to play a part in a National Resilience Forum, designed to facilitate national level planning for flooding and other emergencies."
Williams said: “We also strongly endorse the recommendation that local authorities should create a definitive map of all drainage ditches and streams in their area, making clear who is responsible for maintaining them. More than 75% of our flood claims in 2007 resulted from drainage issues."
He added: “We applaud any initiative that means consumers are better informed and protected, and have a great deal of sympathy for those who have lost a substantial part of their livelihood, but insurance is widely available from a number of suppliers and contents insurance is priced very competitively.
“AXA is however committed to providing information to help people make informed decisions about insurance. We will continue to provide clear guidance to potential policy holders on flood risks and how this will affect their home insurance. We are committed to providing public information on flooding and dealing with the aftermath and we will play an ongoing role in discussing these industry-wide issues, in particular through the ABI.”
