Emergency payments made to home insurance customers affected by the floods. Alternative accommodation and 24 hour helpline* to support customers. AXA proactively contacts and advises customers at risk.
The company will ensure that customers forced out of their homes by flooding caused by Storm Desmond will be placed in alternative accommodation as soon as possible and receive an emergency payment of £1,000 to help with any immediate issues they face.
AXA’s claims teams will continue to provide a round the clock service to handle the expected increase in call volumes and brokers and customers will be able to report claims and seek help and advice from our 24 hour claims helpline*.
AXA has been using geocoding technology to identify customers in some areas deemed to be at high risk of flood alerts to enable the company to contact households proactively and react as quickly as possible to the damage. In the event that an area is evacuated by the authorities, AXA will pay costs towards emergency accommodation even if the property is not subsequently flooded.
Amanda Blanc, CEO AXA Insurance commented:
“So far, although it appears these floods have not affected as many geographical areas as previous events, the nature of the flooding means that the damage to people’s homes and property is severe in some cases.
“Many flooded homes are under standing water which means that once the floodwaters have receded, the property will have to be decontaminated, all affected fixtures and fittings stripped out and the dry out process completed. This obviously takes some time and we are getting customers into alternative accommodation as a priority. We are also making cash payments of £1,000 to help customers pay for the essentials. These payments will be in customers’ accounts today.
“We have a large team of loss adjusters on the ground who are now acting on claims as a priority. We urge any customers who have a claim to make to get in touch as a matter of urgency as time is of the essence to get the process started. We are using our geo-coding technology to identify and proactively contact customers to register their claims.
“The flood waters are receding now but there is another band of rain predicted tomorrow which looks like it will hit down the spine of the country. We are managing volumes of claims at the moment and have extra capacity both on the ground and in claims centres should the situation deteriorate.”
In recent weeks AXA has been sharing advice for those who are at risk of flooding:
– Turn off your water, gas and electricity
– Unplug all electrical items – store smaller items somewhere high or upstairs
– Move personal possessions and valuables upstairs
– If you can, roll up rugs and carpets and put them upstairs
– Leave internal doors open
– If there is no time to take down curtains, hang them over the rail so they are kept above the flood water
– Weigh down manhole covers outside to prevent them floating away and leaving a hazardous hole
– If you are in a real danger zone you should be packing a bag with essentials including medical supplies, mobile phone charger, insurance documents and sentimental possessions – like your favourite photographs.
