"RAIN, rain go away . . ." is more than just a popular children's rhyme for the people of the south and south east of the country whose homes have been flooded as a result of all the rain in recent weeks. Insurance companies have been inundated with claims, at least from those people with property/contents insurance. One company, Guardian/PMPA, has estimated that at least half of all rural homes - are uninsured.
There is very little excuse for not carrying at least some insurance which has become keenly priced in recent years and is widely available. (Anyone with a mortgage is obliged to at least insure the buildings). The cost is based upon the value of the building and contents, geographic location (i.e. is the house very isolated; do you live on the edge of cliff or by a river) and any number of structural and social risks. In major cities with a high burglary rate, premiums will be higher, though you will enjoy discounts if you protect your home with mortice locks and approved alarms.
The recent flood damage has resulted in many people digging out their insurance policies, but just because you have suffered flood damage once doesn't mean that you automatically lose cover if you suffer further damage.
"There was flooding in Carlow four years ago," explains Mr Oliver Bruton of AMEV Insurance, "and another flood two years ago as well as the most recent one. We had a policyholder who made a claim for £25,000 the first time and £30,000 the second time and it was only after we paid out the second claim that we put an exclusion when he renewed his policy."
Floods are a dramatic event, and of the 65,000 claims made in the past year, only one per cent would be for flood damage, says Mr Bruton. The company has received many more claims for damage caused during the big freeze of December 25th, 26th, 27th when scores of people suffered burst pipes.
Already we have had claims as has £40-£50,000 as a result of water damage." While burst pipes are always a problem in the winter it was particularly unfortunate, according to Mr Bruton that the cold snap happened immediately over Christmas when many people were away visiting family in the country or abroad.
Underwriting losses for property have been down over the past two years reports the Irish Insurance Federation. In 1994 £135.8 million worth of new business was written and claims amounted to £78.7 million. A £10 million loss in 1993 was translated into a profit of £16 million for the insurers in 1994 and 1995 claims are not expected to be too far off the previous year, in spite of flooding in Galway and the Christmas freeze up.
If your policy does include an exclusion clause, say insurers, you should certainly make an extra effort to protect your furnishings and valuables from damage or theft, even if it means storing some items. Every householder should also review their home/contents policy, especially if you automatically renew it with the same company each year.
