Insurance claims a 'never ending story' for South Yorkshire flood victims

This weekend marked a month since the county was hit

Author: Ben BasonPublished 9th Dec 2019

A month on from South Yorkshire's floods, people hit hard tell us waiting for insurance payouts feels like a 'never ending story'.

Insurers say they're expecting their final final bill from flooding across the North to reach £110 million.

But many in our county are frustrated as they're still waiting for payments and need the money to properly start the clean up.

Lesley Kelly had a foot of water in her house in Bentley and was flooded back in 2007 too.

She's still waiting for her insurance claim to go through for this year's floods more than four weeks later:

"We're trying to get back into a normal life. I'm back at work, the kids are back at school, but then when we know when we're coming back in it's like 'oh god, I've got to go back into that house'. And you try and clean but what's the point? It just doesn't work. I'll just be glad when it's all done.

"I'm still waiting for my insurance to come through - I call it my tramp's house because that's what it looks like. It's just horrendous, it's the worst feeling ever. I've never felt like this, even from the last time, I've never felt like this."

So far more than £1.2 million has been given to flood victims in emergency payments from insurers.

But Lesley feels like insurance companies are always tying to get away with not paying out:

"You've paid into this insurance - they're good enough to take your money. When I put a claim in I need the money to replace what I've lost, give me a bit of hope.

"But then when I get another email from my loss adjuster and they need this info or they need that info, it's just like a never ending story at the minute.

"It's as though I'm begging for what I've paid into. They knew we got flooded and I did everything right on my claim form. Come and help us - give us a bit of heart. Let us feel as though we're going to get our life back to normal."

Lewis Wills is from Adrian Flux Insurers - he says there can be a number of reasons for problems with claims:

"It may be that when they took they their household policy out they were misinformed or misguided and didn't have flood cover in place. It could be that knowingly or unknowingly they've given incorrect information when doing the original quotation and it gives the insurers a reason not to pay out."