COUNCIL ACCUSED OF DRAGGING OUT INSURANCE CLAIM PROCESS

But leader says three months is ‘normal’

A COUNCIL has been accused of dragging its feet over residents’ insurance claims – so people will abandon the process in frustration.

Councillor Lee Wanger suspects Stoke-on-trent City Council may be deliberately ‘eking’ out the process of dealing with claims made against the authority, after hearing about his constituents’ experiences.

Mr Wanger, City Independent councillor for Tunstall, right, raised the issue during a full council meeting.

He said that, after making inquiries on behalf of his constituents, he had been told the council’s insurer was given up to three months to settle claims – which he believes is a ‘ridiculous’ length of time.

Mr Wanger called on the council to reveal more about its policy on dealing with residents’ claims, such as those relating to pothole-damage to vehicles.

He said: “I’ve been approached on a number of occasions by some of my constituents, asking for some help and intervention with claims they have put in with the council.

“They tell me that it seems to be taking an inordinate length of time and they can’t get through to anybody. They were saying they were starting to believe it was a policy to eke this process out in the hope they would abandon their claim.

“So I managed to get through to our insurers and asked why it was taking so long, and they said they were given up to three months to settle a claim. I couldn’t believe that it’s three months.

“If you were making a claim after something happened to you, you’d want it settled quickly. Three months is an awful length of time. So I’m starting to think that maybe we are eking it out, to make the process longer, so people will abandon it.

“So why are we taking three months? It’s a ridiculous length of time.”

Council leader Abi Brown said she would answer Mr Wanger’s query with a written response.

Bur she suggested that in her personal experience, three months was a ‘normal length of time’ for an insurance claim to be settled.

She said: “It may surprise Councillor

Wanger to hear that I would be impressed with three months. I’ve unfortunately had an accident about 18 months ago, and it took at least three months for my personal, private insurance to pay out, for me to have a replacement vehicle. My understanding is that it isn’t as fast as we would expect.”