Jim Schiro, the head of Zurich Global comes to see Cheltenham’s flood damaged leisure facilities

Just this afternoon, Jim Schiro the chief executive of Zurich Global came to see Cheltenham’s flood damaged leisure facilities for himself. Zurich are the council’s insurer, and Jim Schiro came over from America especially to see how the facilities had suffered. Earlier in the day he visited the Zurich office at The Grange in Cheltenham, itself badly affected.

Graham Annand Zurich’s major loss manager and Andrew North the council’s chief executive accompany Jim Schiro.

Jim Schiro looking down on the flood damage as the media look on.

Everyone remembers this image from less than three weeks ago.

Was your property damaged by the flood?

During the first days of flood, the emergency team set about mobilising resources to provide an adequate level of response to the unprecedented situation. Now that the flood waters have receded and the water supply has returned, we have more time to step back and take a longer view. Surprisingly one thing we do not have is a definitive list of all the properties affected by the flood. We have a list of all the calls we received for advice and sandbags – but it is not comprehensive.
 
If your property was damaged, it would be very helpful if you could email us, giving the address of the property, your name, and contact details including a daytime telephone number and forwarding address (if appropriate). We will contact you and arrange to visit you at the flood-damaged property.

Insurance advice for flood-affected households

There have been reports in the media of ‘entrepreneurs’ targeting flood affected areas with offers to help households progress their insurance claims for a percentage of the payout.

The Government is keen to ensure that practical information is made available to flood affected communities on where they can go for free independent advice on insurance matters.

The advice is:

• Claims can be made directly and free of charge to your insurer. They are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and they have to handle your claim fairly
• Free, independent advice is available face-to-face and by telephone from the Citizen’s Advice Service on 01242 522491
• The FSA and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) are also useful places to turn to for further information on insurance matters
• You should think carefully before enlisting a third party’s help in progressing your insurance claim
• If you do decide to hire a third party – make sure you check how much it will cost you first as they may charge a share of any sum paid out by the insurer. You should also check that they are regulated by the FSA or are an exempt professional firm such as a law firm.

Useful insurance advice

Useful advice below to help those worst affected.