‘We had to actually close our Guernsey office this morning and have just reopened it now,’ said Gary Kelly, head of marketing at Islands Insurance, who is based in Jersey.
‘There was significant damage to the floor above us, and some damage to our own office as well – but I don’t know to what extent. We closed it as a precautionary measure due to any glass, and we managed to clean the area and get everyone back in this afternoon.
‘Staff spent the morning working from home, and it’s been significantly busy – definitely a substantial increase in claims, but we won’t know the full impact until later on.
‘We learnt a lesson from Storm Ciaran, and have a much more robust surge-case plan. The hub on our website gives a lot more information about what is covered and what isn’t, how to prepare and how to make a claim online, which really helps. Most customers can submit a claim online, and we’ll get back to them as soon as possible.’
The extent of the damage has been varied, said Ian Stewart, group director of insurance at Cherry Godfrey. Issues have ranged from property and roofs to greenhouses and sheds.
‘We’ve had a busy morning handling a number of calls and emails from customers reporting storm related damage,’ he said.
‘As expected after a storm of this nature, enquiries are coming in steadily. We’re prioritising cases where there are urgent safety concerns or risk of further damage, and dealing with these on a case-by-case basis.
‘We would advise anyone affected to contact us or their insurers, and we will get back to them as soon as possible. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted.’
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