Charity begins at home – insurance

What started me off (yet another bee in my bonnet) was an announcement that the Government had allocated more funding to local authorities to help those who were worst affected by the July floods.

It made me think about the various ways many of us assist with or donate to charities or help those less well off than ourselves. How some of my hard earned taxes are spent by Government to help the less well off, however, raises some interesting challenges.

Around £1.2m is being released on top of £6.2m already distributed to local authorities. These local authorities will decide how best to spend the money to help those people in the greatest need. It might not be a huge amount of money in the overall picture but it is the principle that must be addressed.

This issue came to light during a visit I made with the ABI to Sheffield after the July floods when we had the opportunity to discuss the challenge the local authority has of helping the most needy, i.e. those who did not have insurance, against those who had taken out insurance. The local authority in Sheffield was very keen to find a way to ensure that they helped the most needy but at the same time create some way for those involved to contribute to this assistance – forward thinking but not easy to implement.

This, of course, is not just a social housing issue as insurance is readily available and there are many excellent and cost effective insurance facilities operated by local authorities to enable tenants to purchase contents insurance. One has to question whether a minimum insurance cover should be mandatory in certain circumstances.

The insurance industry has responded well to the flood claims but Government needs to ensure that greater emphasis is put on self help through the purchase of insurance. What happens if, or when, we have another flood or other natural disaster this winter?

Whilst we will continue to help those less well off than ourselves there is a point that Government and society must look to promote the need for insurance protection.

Eric Galbraith is chief executive of Biba