NI Water defends Lincoln Court flooding payments and response

A number of homes in the Waterside estate had to be evacuated after a burst pipe caused widespread flooding in February.

During the summer Derry City Council decided to write to NI Water to raise its “concern that compensation offered to residents of Lincoln Court for flooding damage some time ago, based on the value of their property at the time, rather than a replacement value.”

Interim Chief Executive at NI Water Trevor Haslett replied by letter on August 19 and defended the compensation offered to residents who were affected by the flooding.

He confirmed that the settlement offer was made from Crawford & Co., loss adjusters retained by Axa Corporate Solutions (UK) Ltd., which is NI Water’s public liability insurer.

Mr Haslett explained that any settlement authority given to Crawford & Co. would have come from Axa and not NI Water “as in a claim of this nature the Insurer will wish to be closely involved from the time of notification.”

He stated that it was normal practise for insurers to agree settlement of third party claims on an indemnity basis as opposed to ‘new for old’ and advised that “all legal liability policies are issued on the basis of indemnity and Axa have fully discharged their legal obligations.”

The NI Water boss went on to defend the company’s response to the flooding incident.

“On the day this unfortunate incident occurred we responded promptly and took steps to ensure that loss adjusters visited all affected areas in Lincoln Court to be certain all had alternative living accommodation where necessary,” he wrote.

He explained how the water firm also provided dehumidifiers in premises where the householder was uninsured.

“We made interim payments to several uninsured residents on request to facilitate them in returning to their homes, even though their final loss could not yet be quantified. I trust you will appreciate that this matter is in the hands of Northern Ireland Water’s insurers. If you wish to pursue the matter with out insurers, I would be happy to provide you with Axa’s contact details,” he wrote.