Flood family find insurance annulled

A FAMILY whose home was devastated in last weekend’s killer Riviera floods have been told their insurance had been cancelled – because a bank payment had been refused.

Hélène, Mounir and their two children have been left homeless as their house in Biot is filled with mud and debris, with walls wrecked and all their clothing and other belongings destroyed.

As the government declared that the floods were a catastrophe naturelle to ease the compensation process Hélène and Mounir had been in touch with her insurer at BNP Paribas to start their claim.

However, when she phoned to get information she was told her contrat-habitation insurance had been cancelled because a direct debit had been refused by her bank due to lack of funds.

She told France Info that she had heard nothing about the direct debit being refused and denied receiving a letter. She could not understand how it could happen when she “still had the direct debits for the assurance-scolaire and the assurance vie".

Now they are staying with family as they try to discover what happened and have contacted a consumer association for help.

The storm, which saw nearly 30km of the Côte d’Azur under water, killed 20 people, with two still missing in the Cannes area.

Alpes-Maritimes prefecture said that 162 local pompiers were being helped in clear-up operations by 160 from outside the department. The Croix Rouge has 100 volunteers helping distressed residents and 80 volunteers from the Protection Civile were helping families clear up.

Anyone who wants to help should check the prefecture floods solidarity page on Facebook at Facebook/Intemperies Solidarité 06
Screengrab: TF1