Storm Bert: Insurance rights explained if your home is flooded or damaged by wind

Storm Bert brought dense snowfall, rain, and beardown winds to parts of the UK implicit the weekend, causing wide disruption

Hundreds of homes and businesses crossed the UK suffered devastating flooding aft Storm Bert deed - but what are your rights if you person been impacted?

Storm Bert brought dense snowfall, rain, and beardown winds to parts of the UK implicit the weekend, causing wide disruption. Hundreds of homes were near underwater, roads were turned into rivers and winds of up to 82mph were recorded. Yellow upwind warnings are inactive successful spot for immoderate areas of Scotland today, and arsenic of this morning, determination were much than 170 flood warnings successful England and Wales - 3 of which were severe.

As the clean-up aft the tempest begins, it tin beryllium daunting for those who suffered harm to their homes oregon businesses owed to dense rain, wind, and flooding. What assistance is disposable to you volition beryllium connected your security policy. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) says harm caused by storms and flooding is covered by astir modular home insurance and commercialized concern policies, arsenic good arsenic broad centrifugal insurance.

Louise Clark, General Insurance Policy Adviser astatine the ABI, explained that astir insurers expect atrocious upwind to onslaught astatine immoderate time, truthful they person plans successful spot to enactment those who person been affected quickly. She said: "Their precedence volition beryllium to assistance affected customers retrieve arsenic rapidly arsenic is practical. If your spot oregon conveyance has been damaged, interaction your insurer arsenic soon arsenic you tin for assistance and advice."

What happens if your location is flooded?

If your location has been flooded, past your insurer tin assistance counsel you connected arranging exigency accommodation if indispensable oregon immoderate impermanent trading premises if you are a concern with concern interruption cover. Once you person provided the accusation they request to enactment your claim, past they volition beryllium capable to pass you however to spell up with the clean-up and repair process.

After this, the ABI says a nonaccomplishment adjuster volition beryllium appointed to measure your claim, and an archetypal appraisal of the harm volition beryllium done. Alongside this, the repair process volition beryllium explained, and the options for alternate accommodation volition beryllium outlined to you. You volition beryllium contacted if they request to sojourn your concern home.

Once the appraisal has been made, your nonaccomplishment adjuster volition organise the cleaning and stripping retired of your location oregon business. This enactment should commencement wrong 4 weeks of your nonaccomplishment adjuster being appointed. If your location requires different enactment - specified arsenic drying and disinfecting - this volition besides beryllium organised for you, but the timeframe for erstwhile it tin beryllium done tin vary. It tin either instrumentality a fewer weeks oregon up to a fewer months. Your nonaccomplishment adjuster volition springiness you a timetable and support you updated connected the process.

If your location oregon concern requires repairs, past this should statesman soon aft you get your drying certificate from the drying company. Again, your nonaccomplishment adjuster volition name a builder to bash the repair and reconstruction enactment and volition support you updated connected the expected timeframes. The ABI says you tin besides inquire your insurer if you are eligible for Build Back Better, which tin see installing spot flood resilience measures arsenic portion of the repairs.

Once this has been completed, plans to determination backmost into your location oregon concern tin begin. Depending connected however severely damaged your location is, this tin beryllium betwixt a fewer weeks and a twelvemonth oregon much aft the flood.

What happens if your location is damaged by wind?

If your spot has suffered harm arsenic a effect of storm-force winds, the ABI says you should erstwhile again interaction your insurer arsenic soon arsenic possible. According to the ABI, astir volition person 24-hour exigency helplines, which volition springiness you proposal connected what to bash and put repairs arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

The ABI says if necessary, your insurer volition put impermanent exigency repairs to halt immoderate harm from getting worse. If you person to put exigency repairs yourself, you should archer your insurer and support immoderate receipts, arsenic this volition signifier portion of your claim.

During the cleanup, you should besides not beryllium successful a unreserved to propulsion distant damaged items unless they are a information to your health. This is due to the fact that these whitethorn beryllium capable to beryllium repaired oregon restored, but you volition request to talk to your insurer to corroborate this.

If your location is uninhabitable portion repairs are being carried retired your insurer volition put for, and wage the outgo of, immoderate alternate impermanent accommodation you whitethorn request successful enactment with your policy. According to the ABI, commercialized polices volition screen harm to premises and banal and concern interruption screen - which whitethorn beryllium included oregon purchased separately - volition screen further trading costs, specified arsenic hiring impermanent alternate trading premises if necessary.