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Search forFight for a fair insurance deal
Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 07:00
And today that petition, which calls on the industry to give everyone a reasonable deal on their insurance, whether they were affected by the floods or not, has been presented to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
The petition formed part of the our Play Fair campaign, which was launched last August after a Mail investigation revealed how insurance firms had blacklisted our region, following the June 25 floods.
More than 100 signatures were added within a day the petition being launched, and since then more than 500 people have logged onto the Mail's website to add their names too.
Since launching the petition, the Mail has taken up the fight for several residents affected by problems with insurers.
In many cases, we succeeded in winning fair cover for residents.
They included Tony Peterson of Seaton Road, Hessle, who was told by his insurer Rias they would not renew his policy after his home was flooded,
The decision left Mr Peterson facing four months without any cover while his existing claim with Rias was completed, because other insurers do not take on new customers while there is an outstanding claim with another company.
Mr Peterson formally appealed against the decision, only to be told by Rias, who are part of, The Fortis Group, the “decline in cover still stands.”
However, after the Mail intervened Rias were made to play fair and offered him a new quote.
Mr Peterson, 61, said: “I never expected the insurers to go back on their decision after they had told me in writing they would not cover me.
“If it was not for the Mail, I would not have insurance now.”
As well as winning the support of people directly affected by problems with insurers, the Play Fair campaign was also supported by several high profile figures, including the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell.
Environment Minister Phil Woolas also backed the campaign as did Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart, Hull North MP Diana Johnson and Hull West and Hessle MP Alan Johnson.
Mr Johnson said: “We are dealing on a daily basis with the families who came to our constituency surgeries seeking help.
“They need to know that the city is behind them in seeking a fair deal.”
Carl Minns, leader of Hull City Council, and Steve Parnaby, leader of East Riding Council, added their signatures to the petition too.
Today, the Association of British Insurers, which represents the industry, denied there was a blacklist on residents in our region.
A spokesperson for the ABI said: “ABI members received four years of weather-related insurance claims in just eight weeks.
“They dealt with more than 130,000 domestic claims, including 17,000 people who weren't able to live in their homes, with the total insurance bill exceeding £3bn.
“It has been widely recognised that last year was the biggest emergency operation in peacetime Britain, and the insurance industry played a crucial part in helping Britain recover.
“Last Wednesday, at an ABI conference, we called on the Government to do more to protect people's homes against the risk of future flooding. This is essential to enable insurance companies to continue to offer competitively priced flood insurance.
“There is not, and never has been, a 'blacklist' by insurance companies on the area of Hull or any other region of the UK.”
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Pupils from flood-hit Rokeby Primary School in west Hull with the Play Fair petition
Sylvester the neglected dog is nursed back to health
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