Cabinet Office Ministers Oliver Letwin and Jo Johnson, Environment Minister Dan Rogerson and Communities Minister Brandon Lewis met with six of the UK's leading insurers to discuss what more can be done to help hard-working people affected by the floods.
The Ministers met the CEOs of Aviva, Direct Line Group, Axa, Lloyds Banking Group and Ageas, along with the Claims Director of RSA and the Association of British Insurers. Together these companies represent 60% of the market.
The CEOs were also accompanied by Axa UK’s Chief Underwriter, who talked Ministers through how flood risk is assessed and insured and highlighted that up to 500,000 homes faced a future without guaranteed affordable flood insurance before the Flood Re deal struck in June last year between Government and industry.
The insurance companies restated their commitment to voluntarily maintaining the 2008 Statement of Principles until Flood Re is delivered in 2015, and assured Ministers that there has been no evidence of insurers raising premiums for flood risk properties in advance of 2015. They reassured Ministers that there was currently sufficient capacity of loss adjusters and specialised drying equipment to begin the repair and restoration process as soon as possible after the flood waters recede (typically starting with a loss adjustor arriving within 3-7 days of the time at which the water has receded and access is feasible), and that they would keep this under review.
As a result of today's discussions:
1. It was agreed that there would be monthly meetings between the Government and the insurance executives to make sure everything possible was being done to provide prompt and full payment to customers and to ensure that Government and the industry were fully co-ordinated in helping flood victims.
2. The insurance companies will continue to operate 24 hour flood helplines that can authorise immediate emergency payments at any time of the day or night. Ministers asked the companies to use lines with local network rates rather than premium rates. Insurers emphasised affected households are being contacted proactively, including by e-mail; and call-backs will always be agreed to save the householder money.
3. The insurance industry will supply a team of technical experts to DCLG and Defra to help ensure the "repair and renew" grants, announced by the PM last week, are used to maximise flood resilience and are integrated into insurer claims processes to maximise take-up. Ministers and the industry agreed that the grants should make a contribution towards enabling households and businesses affected by the current floods to get affordable insurance in the future within Flood Re. Ministers will draw on independent research to quantify the expected impacts of the grant scheme on the cost of insurance.
4. Ministers and the insurance companies agreed that they would work together to ensure that Flood Re will not just cover the repair of properties, but also support, where possible, better protection against future flooding.
5. The insurance companies asserted that there were no issues with SME access to the insurance market and plenty of capacity to continue to provide insurance on a competitive basis. Ministers have asked business groups to identify any evidence of problems in this regard.
6. Insurers also stated that the small number of leaseholders in high risk areas that are not covered by Flood Re will still be able to access affordable insurance commercially. Ministers have asked the leaseholder groups to identify any evidence of problems in this regard.
Otto Thoresen, Director General of the ABI, said "Insurers assured Ministers the situation is under control and that customers have been helped speedily and effectively since the flooding and bad weather began in December. They emphasised the long recovery process ahead and their commitment to helping customers through this difficult time.”
|
