| Gerry Tyack is no stranger to a challenge. He served | | | | 'Most homeowners received an immediate response, |
| with the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, | | | | though some tried for several days to reach their |
| having lied about his age to join up as a 16-year-old in | | | | insurer before being able to make contact. The timing |
| 1939. After working as a fitter on Wellington bombers, | | | | of visits from loss adjusters was also crucial... many |
| he joined a mobile radar unit driving deep into Germany | | | | received visits very quickly while others were forced |
| to pinpoint bomber targets. | | | | to wait due to a lack of available loss adjusters.' |
| More recently, Gerry combined a career as a garage | | | | Pitt says home insurance companies must adopt |
| owner with a weekend passion for motor racing. In the | | | | common standards in assessing flood claims so |
| Sixties and Seventies he set international hill-climb and | | | | householders can get on with clearing out wet and |
| sprint records in a series of Porsche, BMW and | | | | rotting items without waiting for a visit from an |
| Brabham cars. | | | | adjuster. |
| But Gerry's latest challenge has been coping with the | | | | Simon Black, head of flood mapping at Norwich Union, |
| aftermath of last summer's flooding. His Cotswold | | | | says: 'A flood claim isn't like any other claim that we |
| stone home in the town of Moreton-in-Marsh, | | | | deal with. Homeowners have to live with the aftermath |
| Gloucestershire, was badly affected as 18 inches of | | | | for months on end. |
| water swept through the ground floor. | | | | 'We have learnt lessons on how we communicate |
| The water also flooded into the Wellington Aviation | | | | with customers. When someone is going to be out of |
| Museum that Gerry, 84, founded in former school | | | | their home for months, sitting down to discuss |
| rooms adjoining his home in 1990 as a tribute to the | | | | rebuilding one week after the shock of a flood is |
| RAF personnel who trained at the wartime air base in | | | | difficult. It may be better to let someone settle in |
| Moreton-in-Marsh. | | | | alternative accommodation, then a month later start |
| Unique books, documents and pictures were ruined. | | | | planning for the future.' |
| Gerry says: 'The water turned these records into an | | | | Many of those who were flooded now face increased |
| unidentifiable pulp.' | | | | excesses - the amount they have to pay towards the |
| Fortunately, the building itself was almost unscathed. | | | | cost of any future flood claims. Black says: 'We have |
| Gerry says: 'I had every reason to close the museum | | | | had to look at £5,000 excesses where someone |
| for good after the floods, but something kept me | | | | has a big house and lots of assets to protect.' |
| going.' After some disinfecting and cleaning, the | | | | NU has increased household premiums by about 10% |
| museum was open again within a fortnight. | | | | since last summer, though it says this is not only |
| But repairing Gerry's house took longer. Plaster had to | | | | because of floods. For flood victims unhappy with the |
| be stripped off the walls, warped floors needed to be | | | | deal being offered by their insurer or the claims service |
| ripped up and the kitchen required a complete rebuild. | | | | they experienced last year, getting another quote is |
| Gerry parked a caravan in his garden to act as a | | | | not easy. |
| sitting room and kitchen while the repairs were under | | | | The comparison website recently analysed quotes for |
| way. His insurer, NFU Mutual, paid £60,000 to restore | | | | high-risk postcodes across the UK. It found that in |
| the property and to replace damaged contents. The | | | | cases where a property had been flooded within the |
| final recarpeting and redecoration was not completed | | | | past year, on average only three out of a total of 60 |
| until May. | | | | insurers were willing to quote. |
| Gerry's story is one among many of the lives turned | | | | The huge losses have also raised questions over |
| upside down by the flooding. More than 130,000 homes | | | | whether insurers can continue to provide universal |
| and 30,000 businesses were flooded and 20,000 | | | | cover against floods. Under an agreement between |
| vehicles were damaged. | | | | insurers and the Government, insurance companies |
| Insurers will end up paying more than £3bn to settle | | | | promise to offer flood cover to all homes where the |
| claims. Uninsured losses total up to £2bn. Even now, | | | | risk of flooding is less than once every 75 years and |
| thousands of families are living in temporary housing or | | | | to those in higher-risk areas where flood defences are |
| caravans. The scale of the floods represented a huge | | | | planned. |
| challenge for insurers and loss adjusters. Some | | | | In return, insurers asked the Government to boost |
| managed to handle claims efficiently while others | | | | flood defence spending and to change planning laws |
| struggled. | | | | to stop building on flood plains. Insurers are reviewing |
| Government adviser Sir Michael Pitt was | | | | the agreement and there is a chance that some |
| commissioned last year to report on the lessons from | | | | homes may be left without cover. |
| the flooding. His final findings are expected at the end | | | | Black says: 'Newly built properties in high-risk areas will |
| of the month but his interim report says: 'There were | | | | become increasingly hard to insure unless they are built |
| highly variable experiences of insurers' responsiveness. | | | | with flood resilience measures in mind. |