Post Magazine 3rd July 2008
Post Magazine
UK News
3 Jul 2008
Industry and government blasted over flood displacement excuses
Alwynne Gwilt
Doubts have been raised over government and insurer claims that many of the people still displaced by the summer floods have not returned home simply because their houses have not dried out.
Speaking in the House of Commons last week following the publication of the Pitt Report, Hilary Benn, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, listed this as the principal reason for people not moving home, adding: "If anyone has any ideas about how that can be done more quickly, I am sure that insurance companies and those householders will be keen to hear them."
But Dr Greg French, managing director at Davis French and Associates, and former managing director of Belfor, dismissed that reasoning, blaming disconnect between the insurance industry and damage management companies for not sorting things out sooner.
"Truthfully, there's not a property in this country that, if you hadn't left the windows and doors open, wouldn't be dry by now. It's been used as a bit of an excuse," he said.
Dr French, a former chairman of the British Damage Management Association, said communication between the two parties is often skewed because insurers bring in chartered surveyors, who are not trained in drying out properties, to decide how to proceed with fixing a house post-flooding.
Dr French added: "There's been a fundamental problem in the way flood properties are dealt with by the insurance industry."
Often, he claimed, because of a lack of training in this niche area, the recommendation is to fully gut a house and start from scratch.
"If you strip it out fully then it might dry it out more quickly but boy does it extend the refurbishment period," said Mr French.
Both Defra and the department for communities and local government claim the information gathered came from the ground up, with input from insurers and local councils.
The Association of British Insurers confirmed it supported this information but added that, rather than 4716 homeowners still without housing, there should only be around 700 out of their homes. The CLG added that the pace at which people are moving back into their homes is improving.
The BDMA said it is difficult to say how many homes might still be flood damaged, because each would need to be analysed individually. Nonetheless, a spokeswoman added: "The BDMA sees the number of people still out of their homes as an unacceptable figure."
But Dr French said the statements made by Mr Benn are detrimental to the damage management and restoration industry and added that nothing will change until insurers re-examine the relationships with these companies.
"What we really need, as an industry, is to get the relevant professionals to sit down and speak about when and how a property should be dried," he concluded.
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