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Off Topic Advice Needed - Flood Damage and Insurance



CP 0 3 BHA

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
2,256
Northants
Today has not been a great day. Last night our house and our B&B business were flooded during the storms.

Although we had about 15 inches of water collected in our lane outside, the ground floor of the B&B and our downstairs rooms had only an inch or so through. We've a lot of cleaning up and drying out to do but as a result of much of the ground floor being tiled, it seems that the only real damage is carpeting to two rooms - one fairly large, new skirting required for one room and possible replacement of the parque flooring in another room.

We also had 4 inches through the garages which I'm treating as an opportunity for a clear-out - although sadly many of my programmes back to the 70s were caught, including my 1983 cup final one.

This all leaves me with a dilemma. Do a make an insurance claim so that this costs me very little in the short term - but possibly a lot in terms of fture insurance and property value - or do I try to avoid a claim and take the costs on the chin - which will be very painful.

This happened as a result of the drains in our village being inadequate but that's another battle to be had.

If anyone works in the insurance industry or has direct experience I'd value their opinion.

Thanks.
 


Uncle C

Well-known member
Jul 6, 2004
11,678
Bishops Stortford
If you make a claim then your property will always be logged as one that floods. Equally when you come to sell it you will have to declare the fact.
 




seagullsovergrimsby

#cpfctinpotclub
Aug 21, 2005
43,690
Crap Town
If you make a claim then your property will always be logged as one that floods. Equally when you come to sell it you will have to declare the fact.

If other properties in the vicinity have also flooded the whole area becomes a flood risk. Our house in Grimsby is just outside the flood risk area if the sea defences are breached and the Environment Agency redrew the risk area when a local river flooded in 2007 which is half a mile away but didn't affect anyone locally.
 


drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
23,007
Burgess Hill
If you make a claim then your property will always be logged as one that floods. Equally when you come to sell it you will have to declare the fact.


If your neighbours were also flooded then insurers will probably rate the area irrespective of whether you make a claim. Also, I would imagine that when you sell you will be duty bound to record that the property was flooded whether you make a claim or not.
 




CP 0 3 BHA

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2003
2,256
Northants
If the cause of the flooding was inadequate drainage, have you considered making a claim against the owner of the drains, rather than your own insurance? If you are in Northamptonshire, maybe this site will help?

http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/...n/flood/pages/roles-and-responsibilities.aspx

Thanks. Despite living at 500 feet above sea level my house is set in a private lane that provides the natural run-off from the main highway if the drainage gets inundated. Other properties get close to problems but survive. After an incident in 1999 and much subsequent pressure (at that time Highways and Anglian Water kept passing the buck) the Victorian Culverts under our main roads were replaced with what was widely seen as an inadequate gauge of new pipe - about 9 inches. the whole system is under increasing pressure due to new development at the top of our village.

We hoped the assurances were right but they clearly weren't - after a few near misses we've copped it again. I'd dearly love to go after Anglian - if I read the advice right, they now have a formal responsibility rather than being able to pass the blame to Highways.
 


Thanks. Despite living at 500 feet above sea level my house is set in a private lane that provides the natural run-off from the main highway if the drainage gets inundated. Other properties get close to problems but survive. After an incident in 1999 and much subsequent pressure (at that time Highways and Anglian Water kept passing the buck) the Victorian Culverts under our main roads were replaced with what was widely seen as an inadequate gauge of new pipe - about 9 inches. the whole system is under increasing pressure due to new development at the top of our village.

We hoped the assurances were right but they clearly weren't - after a few near misses we've copped it again. I'd dearly love to go after Anglian - if I read the advice right, they now have a formal responsibility rather than being able to pass the blame to Highways.
A few years ago, a tree fell over and crushed my next door neighbour's mother-in-law's car. It was a "highway tree" (one that was growing on their land). The council accepted responsibility and paid out from their own insurance policy. There was no claim made against the car insurers.

This sounds essentially like the same sort of incident.
 



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