East coast appeal launched
- Thread starter macnorton
- Start date
pvb
Well-Known Member
I'm not convinced this is a valid cause. Anyone who bought an uninsurable shack on the edge of a known erosion coast surely can't have been unaware of the potential consequences?
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sailorman
Well-Known Member
The RSPB wild fowl will do better from this surge
macnorton
Well-Known Member
The RSPB site was badly damaged and the RSPCA have a lot of orphan seals to feed, I am sure home owners would have been insured if it was possible.
sailorman
Well-Known Member
Quite so & those you mentioned have exceedingly large reserves
DavidofMersea
Well-Known Member
I doubt those with a house on top of a crumbling cliff could get insurance, but apart from that, I cannot see why others couldn't. I live in a house on the beach, and I didn't have much trouble getting insurance
macnorton
Well-Known Member
These areas have not have the same investment in flood protection as some areas nearer London may have had so insurance load premiums accordingly to the point that lower paid people cannot afford it.
DavidofMersea
Well-Known Member
There is no flood protection in West Mersea, and live on the beach and pay normal rates, so what is this about loaded premiums that lower paid people cannot afford? I have heard this sort of talk before, and it is just euphemism for "I didn't bother with insurance"
Sixpence
Well-Known Member
David, with respect, you're not really in a position to say that they didn't bother with insurance. Sometimes it's just not possible to get insurance cover. I don't intend relaying the circumstances but I've lived in one, which was burned to the ground in a fire. We had no insurance as no insurance company would touch us, we had to start from scratch with nothing. You've never been in that position so please, don't go there
DavidofMersea
Well-Known Member
I am a retired insurance broker and I am aware there are some properties that are uninsurable, such as those on the cliff top. However, I heard somebody who lives in town saying they could not get insurance - I live on the beach, and I get normal terms, and therefore I find it hard to believe those in a low lying town could not get insurance.
Sixpence
Well-Known Member
David, have a look at this link http://maps.environment-agency.gov....opic=floodmap#x=602456&y=210804&lg=1,&scale=2
Zoom in on West Mersea and you'll see it's got almost no blue areas inland from the coast
Now go North West to Spalding, Boston, and the surrounding area. You'll see there that it's almost entirely blue. That's the EA's anticipated flood zone. My inlaws live in an area smack bang in the middle of that lot. They'd have to drive West fast to escape any incoming floods. Any home with a history of flooding carries an additional loading on insurance, and I've just had a confirmation email that any pubs affected by this latest flooding, could be unable to obtain flood cover in the future.
In a red flood zone, where there is already a history of flooding, flood cover can be impossible to get. The insurance companies are also saying that unless the government do something about flood protection, they'll withdraw cover from areas at risk. Your circumstances are nothing like those affected by these, or future floods. You'll be high and dry on your beach where others, my family included, are under risk of being unable to insure and unable to sell, where others are already in that position
George, a member of this parish, has not been seen on here recently. He's an EA employee (or was) and would be in a position to put all the information on the table, if he hasn't had his hands tied. So yes, some people who are in very high risk areas would be unable to insure
Coastal defence breaches around your area don't have quite the same effect as they do in land that's below sea level. You may not be able to cross the causeway to the mainland, others may need to get up on the roof
Zoom in on West Mersea and you'll see it's got almost no blue areas inland from the coast
Now go North West to Spalding, Boston, and the surrounding area. You'll see there that it's almost entirely blue. That's the EA's anticipated flood zone. My inlaws live in an area smack bang in the middle of that lot. They'd have to drive West fast to escape any incoming floods. Any home with a history of flooding carries an additional loading on insurance, and I've just had a confirmation email that any pubs affected by this latest flooding, could be unable to obtain flood cover in the future.
In a red flood zone, where there is already a history of flooding, flood cover can be impossible to get. The insurance companies are also saying that unless the government do something about flood protection, they'll withdraw cover from areas at risk. Your circumstances are nothing like those affected by these, or future floods. You'll be high and dry on your beach where others, my family included, are under risk of being unable to insure and unable to sell, where others are already in that position
George, a member of this parish, has not been seen on here recently. He's an EA employee (or was) and would be in a position to put all the information on the table, if he hasn't had his hands tied. So yes, some people who are in very high risk areas would be unable to insure
Coastal defence breaches around your area don't have quite the same effect as they do in land that's below sea level. You may not be able to cross the causeway to the mainland, others may need to get up on the roof
DavidofMersea
Well-Known Member
OK, point partly taken. Certainly the areas around Boston and Spalding have a greater blue area than Mersea. My house appears to be in Blue, but we can't see properly because there is a great yellow dot on my house, and the ground rises sharply behind my house. Despite only having a narrow blue strip where my house is, it is just as low as many others areas with blue - The water was less than a metre from my floor level on Thursday. I believe some of the Spalding and Boston area is below sea level, but they have some sea defences
Sixpence
Well-Known Member
It's those sea defences that are the problem, but even the current ones aren't up to the job. Cutbacks mean more and more areas flooding more and more often
sailorman
Well-Known Member
Zoom in David, the blue is almost up to the road
DavidofMersea
Well-Known Member
....and my house is between the road and the beach
macnorton
Well-Known Member
The houses in the fens can be 20ft + below your front step so quite a bit lower, and the sea went over the defences in Boston.
The clip below from Wells features a building that is higher than many houses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9-896fw7uA
"Mr Frary, who is the fourth generation of his family to work for the RNLI, said: “We opened up the doors to let the waters come in. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get them open and wouldn’t have been able to go out.
“Throughout the floods we’ve been operational at all times.
“The boathouse was shaking and the waters were coming up the stairs but I never felt in danger.
“We’ve got a 14-tonne lifeboat here, so we knew we were safe and the kettle was working, which was the main thing.”
He added: “Thousands of pounds of damage have been caused to the lifeboat house and we’re not insured.
“I understand the money for the repairs will come from the RNLI’s national funds.”
The RNLI estimates at least £500,000 worth of damage has been caused to several lifeboat stations and lifeguard facilities by the storm surge but all boats and volunteer crews remain fully operational."
In short these guys left there home to the mercy of the sea to man a lifeboat in case sailors (like you) needed help!
Ever been to the chandlers in Wells or seen the row of houses behind?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlqusoC9PQg
As a retired insurance salesman you have contacts these people dont, perhaps you could come out of retirement and use your contacts to help them?
Ref the OP listing. I listed it in case anyone wished to contribute, it's up to the individual?
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