Businesses in parts of Northern Ireland hardest hit by flooding have been left counting the cost of the damage.Insurers will look at a lot of information including flood maps and previous incidents which might mean some areas, like BT35 in Newry, cannot get flood cover.The advice from industry experts is to contact your insurer or broker regardless as they will need to know the property is empty as that might affect other parts of your policy.
"That's because insurance is a business that's built on risk and data and in those cases the cost of insuring for flood insurance, bearing in mind the likelihood of a claim coming in and the severity and the extent of that claim probably goes beyond the commercial appetite of insurers. "It's a really difficult situation for them to be in, insurers do want to try and do business and help these customers, but they need to be able to do that within the confines of their own business models and risk appetite."Businesses are calling for support from all levels of government - council, regional and Westminster.
There have been calls from business organisations for the Department of Finance, which is responsible for rates, to give businesses an immediate rates holiday.