Help when it's
needed most

When floods devastated Peter and Beryl Hick’s home, Hiscox helped them get back on track

After three years in their property without any problems, retired couple Peter and Beryl Hick were shocked to find it flooded.

Beryl (pictured left) says: “There had never been any problems with floods where we live and we don’t live anywhere near a river, so we were very surprised when the water started coming into the house.

“I first noticed water creeping in at lunchtime and by 5pm we had about two feet of water throughout the downstairs.”

Peter and Beryl’s house was one of many that flooded around Beverley in East Yorkshire last June, and close by in Hull many more residents were left devastated as flood waters ruined their homes.

Peter says: “The flood also meant we had no landline, so I had to call from my mobile, which was rapidly losing power. I decided to call Hiscox directly but I was worried that I would have to go through an automated ‘press 1, press 2’ process or be kept on hold for ages, which would have used up my phone’s power.

“The reality was nothing of the sort,” he says. “The call was dealt with quickly and resulted in a loss adjuster visiting us on the Thursday. The floods brought us great distress. Life became quite fraught and the only salvation was Hiscox. We soon realised that help was only a phone call away.”

Peter and Beryl were given a main contact at Hiscox to deal with their claim from start to finish: Caroline Littlefair who is based at Hiscox’s Colchester office.

“We dealt with 228 claims for flood damage last June but I’m very familiar with Peter and Beryl’s claim,” says Caroline. “I speak to them about once a month and have been out to visit them and see their property for myself. Given the scale of the floods, we thought it was important that everyone with a claim was given a Hiscox contact to whom they could speak rather than speaking to a different member of staff every time they called.”

Topsy turvy

The couple’s house has the bedrooms on the ground floor and the living areas on the upper level. Until the flood waters receded, Beryl and Peter were unable to leave their property and took refuge on the upper level.

“We lost everything on the ground floor,” Beryl says. “We had no beds and our toilets weren’t working. For the first couple of nights we slept on sofas upstairs, but were soon able to move out to a house a few yards away that wasn’t affected by the floods.”

A loss adjuster visited Peter and Beryl to assess the extent of the damage just two days after they had spoken to Hiscox and Caroline visited the couple shortly after. She says: “When I visited their property, the ground floor had been completely gutted and everything had been stripped back. The floors had been taken up to assist in the drying-out process.

“I could see how devastating it must be to see your home ruined. Peter and Beryl’s insurance can cover a lot of things but when you’ve got items that you may have collected over 30 years, it’s not that easy to replace your belongings.”

As the holiday season approached, Peter and Beryl were still living in temporary accommodation. “The Friday before Christmas, a Fortnum and Mason hamper arrived from Hiscox,” says Beryl. “It was a lovely gesture and it certainly made our Christmas.”

Caroline says: “We decided that we would send hampers to all of our customers who had been flooded and who wouldn’t be back in their homes in time for Christmas.”

Peter and Beryl were so pleased with the service they received from Hiscox that they penned a letter and poem of thanks and sent them to Caroline. “It’s great to get that sort of feedback from customers,” she says.

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