Home Secretary Jacqui Smith asks for industry advice, but don't expect action soon
Any engagement between the Government and private sector can be a painfully slow and cumbersome business.
But discussions between the insurance industry and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith about expanding insurance to the poorest people should be acted upon as quickly as possible.
Why? For a start, It is coming up to those crucial summer months when the UK suffers its worst flooding.
As John Greenway, MP for Ryedale, points out, some of his constituents have been left devastated by floods.
Many were tenants on social housing, who although they got rehoused, found the local authority and Government did not replace most of their household contents.
TVs, furniture, beds, electronic equipment were all lost and charities were the only ones to help. These problems could have been solved if they had household insurance.
For as little as £6 a month, although perhaps more costly in a floodzone area, tenants could have got their household contents insured.
So why don’t more people take out household insurance? Awareness is one of the problems. Many low income families are unaware of the potential benefits of household insurance.
Compared to other household expenses – such as Sky, essentially a luxury which costs around £44 a month – household insurance is a bargain.
If the Government could some how work with the industry to raise awareness of insurance, or even better, offer a subsidised package to low income families, it would make a huge difference to people’s lives.
Sadly, the Government has all too often acted like a bloated bureaucratic oil tanker that turns at snail’s pace.
For example, the Government is keen to get insurers to pay compensation to terrorist victims abroad.
Ignoring the rights and wrongs of their aims, the whole idea kicked off after the Sharm el-Sheikh bombings. But that was four years ago.
Don’t hold your breath that we’ll see any action soon.
See story: Insurers and brokers join top-level Home Office summit
