A conversation between several people over a garden wall resulted in us being asked to do the following post:
People have had varied responses from their different insurance companies in relation to the rain/flood damage of the other weekend. Some feel they have had a very rapid response and an exemplary service, but others have concerns. One household had a very rapid initial response but now feel they are left not knowing what is going to happen; another feels their contents insurers are trying to shift the reponsibility to the buildings insurer for what should be contents leaving them falling between the two stools.
It has been suggested that comments here on the Blog may help those less happy with the service they are getting. If people that are happy with their insurers say so in the comments section below, this will give those unhappy with theirs something to cite to their own insurers, or in the worst case the name of alternative insurance companies to change to when their policy comes up for renewal. Those people unhappy with their insurers may be able to use comments on the Blog to put the pressure of adverse publicity on them to come up with the goods.
Another interesting related point is the potential consequences to property owners as to how what happened is defined. If the water that entered your house is defined as flooding (e.g. rising water from a river or stream), you will be obliged in the future to declare it as such and this may have potential future implications for insurance and property values; however if it is defined as surface run off (e.g. rain water from the road which the drains have failed to deal with), this may not have the same implications.
So if you are happy or not with your insurer’s response to the freak weather conditions experienced on 5th/6th September let us know about your experience and don’t be afraid to name the insurance companies (but also remember you can comment under a pseudonym).
PARWICH.ORG 
Although we were thankfully spared in the recent deluge, about 18 months ago we suffered a nasty flood due to a leaking water pipe, which caused a ceiling to collapse.
During the ensuing clean up, we were tipped off by the workmen that some insurance companies try to avoid paying the electricity bills associated with the considerable extra power used by dehumidifiers (we had three, over a period of about two months).
They strongly advised us to record the time used by the dehumidifiers; ours had built in time loggers, and we took readings at the start and end of the drying process. Alternatively, we could have recorded the electricity meter readings.
In the end we received about £125 for electricity – but we did have to request this. I believe the insurance company would have just let this go if we hadn’t asked.