News from West Cork...

car insurance issues

Though Ireland's rainfall isn't much above average for the region, the country has a history of bad floods. The last one occurred in November of 2009 when more than a foot of rain fell in less than twenty-four hours. This led to the inevitable flooding of thousands of homes across the Emerald Isle.

The situation was so serious that the millitary had to be called in to evacuate and rescue thousands of stranded homeowners. The flood was the worst that Ireland had seen in over thirty years. And people are still dealing with the consequences of the damage and destruction to their property.

For one thing, all Irish homeowners were subject to higher insurance rates, since flooding makes home insurance expensive became the norm. It didn't even matter that the country has a historically equable climate or that rainfall numbers are just a bit above average. All that mattered was that the insurance companies had lost millions and they desperately needed to recoup the money with higher rates.

Will the rates return to normal any time soon? Well, it's hard to say. Companies are still receiving claims from the flood and many of them have been forced into bankruptcy.

One of the most unfortunate results of this situation is that higher insurance prices have discouraged new homeowners from purchasing home insurance. This is a dangerous situation because if there is another flood, heaven forbid, thousands will be left homeless with no financial aid whatever.