Union Home Insurance

Union Home Insurance

Home Insurance; Flood Damage the Second Wave

Of course many of us have and will never experience flooding due to the area’s in which we choose to make our home being free from this problem. This is of little comfort to those unfortunate to live in low lying areas and on or surrounding flood plains.

The recent torrential downpours were said to dump between 1-2 months rainfall within the space of a day, leaving already inundated river systems full to bursting. In some area’s this is indeed what has happened. Take for example the Rivers; Severn and Avon, both were to burst there banks earlier in the week causing chaos for the homes nestled in and around them. The substations were flooded resulting in a loss of power for some and the loss of water supply was to follow as a result of the local pumping station being submerged in flood water.

The cost to home insurance companies is thought to be around £3 billion and could quickly escalate depending on levels of precipitation during the next week or so. The topic beginning to worry some is whether this cost will force the insurers to re-evaluate their flood cover and maybe remove it or increase premium prices noticeably. This issue has been in debate for some time and those who live in areas at risk from flooding will most probably find their premium price higher than they would expect. Unfortunately some 2.2 million properties in the UK are built on floodplains and it is possible the insurers would see this as a cost factor they can remove by ceasing to provide cover for these areas. Whatever the outcome we can all expect to see an increase in our house insurance premiums as insurers will be looking to recover some of their lost profit.

It is expected the Government will seek aid from the European union to help in the recovery process after having stumped up a relatively small amount of £14 million, a figure that some say will barely scratch the surface. Inevitably it is the British public who will pay for the damage, whether it be through taxes or increased insurance premiums, the pinch will be felt.

Regardless of whether the insurance companies decide to cease cover in certain areas, can you afford to be without it at the moment? Especially when you consider; if the weather was acting in reverse and we were experiencing a blistering summer, we would by now have spent a huge amount of money on new additions to the garden. It is crucially important to ensure we have the protection we need for our possessions and property. The cost of house insurance is considered high by some but the fact is a cheap home insurance policy providing the level of cover you require can still be found if you are prepared to do some searching around.

With the news that homes in the affected areas could be without water for a further week all we can do is sympathise with their plight and let them know our thoughts are with them.

About the Author

Chris Rowlands is a UK based author with experience within the financial sector centering on insurances.

Buying new vehicle with trade-in – owe $ on trade. What do I do?

I want to purchase a new vehicle, out of town, on a Saturday. I owe money on my trade-in with a local credit union. Will I be able to take my new vehicle home with me that day? How do they handle this type of situation? What about insurance driving the new vehicle home?

It can be done. Everything is determined by your credit. But, if you are trading in and owe a balance, what they will do is decide how much the car is worth. You too can check the web on kelley blue book to see the value (so you won’t be “took”. Depending on the value they are offering, you can agree or disagree. If you owe more than the car is worth, then you will payoff that amount in the new vehicle (try not to do this). But, before you go out call your insurance company that you have now and advise them of the trade and let them know that before you leave the dealership that you want to have your insurance papers in order. This isn’t really neccessary because the dealership has insurance on the car too. Ask them what’s your time span for getting that in place, if you can’t do the aforementioned suggestion.

New Union President shall present the main priorities of North Antrim dairy farmer John Thompson is the new president of the Ulster Farmers' Union. He was unopposed elected at this week's AGM UFU. In an interview with rural life immediately after the meeting, he outlined his list of priorities for the coming period.