Hard to see why insurers might refuse to pay out for bomb damage

SOME accidents and incidents that might damage the family home can be predicted. Fire and flood are risks that – depending on the location of the property – might be reasonably expected at some time in the life of a building. And high winds can often cause damage to exposed homes. But a blast from a World War II bomb discovered on a building site close to where you live must be among the less likely incidents to go down on an insurance claim form.

Yet when bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion in Exeter on a 1,000 bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe more than 75 years ago, the resulting damage – despite the best efforts of the Ministry of Defence team – has been significant. And although completely unexpected, such damage is precisely the kind of thing householders take out insurance to cover, so they don’t end up out of pocket for something that was not their fault.

Yet it seems, from people who have contacted Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, many of those who face significant repair bills for fixing up their properties are having difficulties accessing funds from their insurers. And there is confusion about who might pick up the bill for vital work that will allow some residents of the area immediately around the bomb site to get back home again. That’s hard to understand.

Insurance is, everyone knows, something of a minefield. There are generally exemptions, excesses that have to be covered by the insured, and other issues, often buried deep in the small print, that need to be dealt with before a payment is made. But it is difficult to imagine that any insurer who has taken money in premiums – often over many years without ever paying out – would quibble when a householder, affected by damage from a the controlled explosion of a Nazi bomb, submits a claim.

If that is happening, then Mr Bradshaw is right to demand that, while the issue is being resolved, a fund is established to tide folk over, at least until they can have their claims paid up by insurers.

The insurance industry can, of course, find itself subjected to sudden, large and extensive claims when incidents that affect large numbers of people or businesses suddenly occur. But it is the job of those in the industry to hedge against such situations becoming financially damaging. The rule is pretty clear – if you agree to cover the risk, if and when it becomes a reality, you pay up.

And the Exeter bomb has hardly created a major series of claims for the insurance industry. It is the very definition of a small and contained incident, affecting a handful of properties, albeit some of them seriously, in a limited way and – in all likelihood – for the first and last time in most people’s lifetimes.

Goodwill may not be a concept that applies to the insurance industry. Insurers are, after all, in business. They have, of course, no obligation to pay up if policies taken out by householders specifically exclude the kind of damage suffered. Without such an exclusion, however, they must pay. And while the wrangling goes on, Government must ease the burden, with support for claimants.