Major flooding across several towns and villages in Cornwall last night led to people being trapped in their cars and homes and left areas of St Austell and St Blazey impassable. While it is too early to estimate the cost to homeowners, the average cost of a household insurance claim for storm damage is £660, according to M&S Money.
Met Office figures show the wettest month in the UK is December, with an average of 124.88mm of rainfall, while the windiest month is January with an average wind speed of 11.8 knots, so the worst could be yet to come.
Austyn Tusler of insurer Hiscox says ideally, consumers would, "understand the risk beforehand and prepare accordingly to minimise damage". But if the worst happens regardless, the uninsured will face a hefty bill, while those with cover need to know what to do to minimise the damage to their property and ensure their insurance claim goes without any hiccups.
Julie Owens, head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com, says your insurer will expect you to make attempts to minimise your claim. It depends on the insurer how they define "attempts to minimise your claim" but Owens said you will be expected to ring your insurer immediately to inform it of the situation and to obtain advice and assistance.
Insurers should have loss adjusters on the ground and most will be able to offer temporary accommodation if a home becomes uninhabitable (depending on the cover you have), as well as direct suitable contractors to assist with cataloguing the damage and with the clean-up.
David Williams from Axa Insurance warns that many people have been caught out at this stage in the past. "As sad as it sounds, people wearing yellow fluorescent vests descend on areas when storms hit and persuade victims to use them in the clean-up and any construction work that is needed," he explains.
"But they are often incredibly expensive and are clearly taking advantage of the situation. So before you appoint a contractor, speak to your insurer, who will often want to have a say in who is used and what work is done."
Owens added: "People should also consider their vehicles too. While home insurance is essential to guard your property, motor insurance should also be an important consideration for any flood risk to your car." Flood victims are advised to ring their motor insurer and also catalogue any damage to the vehicle in the same way they would their home – if it is safe to do so.
Owens offers a checklist of dos and don'ts for flood victims:
• Let your home insurance provider know as quickly as possible, especially if it is responsible for alternative accommodation. Your insurer may also offer you drying equipment to help clean up. And don't forget to tell your insurer where to contact you if you do leave your home.
• Don't clear up. Starting the clean-up operation may seem like the obvious thing to do if your home has been flooded but don't do anything until you've spoken to your insurer. It may want to send out a loss adjuster to assess the damage before you touch anything. Your insurer may also ask you to keep hold of items that will be needed to process your claim, which you may otherwise have thrown away.
• Take pictures. If possible, take some snaps of the initial damage to support your insurance claim. If you have removed any ruined items from your flooded home, take pictures of them as well – as that might help your claim.
• Turn off the power. If water is still coming into your home even though the storm has passed, switch off the power supply as quickly as possible to protect yourself and your home.
• Clear cracked or broken tiles on your roof as they pose a real danger (high winds could blow them off), risking damage to your own property or someone else's.
• Clear drains. Your drains and gutters could have filled with leaves or other debris, so it's important to clear them as soon as possible to ensure water can easily run off the roof. If the water has nowhere to go, it could result in leaks or damp patches in your home. Also, the weight of sediment and leaf build up can damage your guttering.
• It's worth taking the time to check if heavy winds have damaged anything in your garden and make sure nothing has been dislodged or loosened that could then blow around and cause further damage.
• After loss adjusters have been, you will need to clean up. If you do open doors and windows to ventilate the house or leave the house entirely, ensure your house and valuables are secure as the last thing you will need is to suffer a secondary loss that may or may not be covered under your contents insurance policy.
Mark Monteiro of Uswitch adds that you remember to close windows if you're using a dehumidifier, and only turn gas and electricity back on when it's been checked by a qualified person.
Axa's Williams also warns that victims should not rule out further flooding, so anything that has survived the first wave should be taken upstairs, in case severe rains fall again.
If you live in England or Wales you can check how at risk your current (or new) home is on the Environment Agency's flood map. The Scottish map can be seen at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The Rivers Agency covers Northern Ireland.
