Mother’s bedroom left underwater after nearby river burst its banks – but insurer tells her it has no record of flooding near her home

• Joanna Balfour, 40, watched in horror as her home in Nottingham on October 20

A mother whose bedroom was left underwater after a nearby river burst its banks found herself baffled after her insurer claimed she had not been impacted by flooding.

Joanna Balfour, 40, watched in horror as her home in Bulwell, Nottingham, slowly filled up with water from the nearby River Leen on October 20.

The river had burst its banks during Storm Babet and charged towards homes in the local area. 

As Ms Balfour stepped downstairs into her ground-floor bedroom, she discovered water coming up to her shins.

The water had destroyed her furniture and the majority of her belongings, she said.

But weeks after the disaster, which had caused around £4,500 worth of damage, an agent for insurer Admiral Group claimed her rented home had not been impacted by flooding – despite pictures showing her bedroom partially submerged. 

‘I stepped into the room in the dark [as the electricity had tripped] and there was shin-level water, I didn’t know what to do. I just walked around in circles and cried as there was nothing I could do to stop it,’ she told Nottinghamshire Live. 

Joanna Balfour, 40, watched in horror as her home in Bulwell, Nottingham , slowly filled up with water from the nearby River Leen on October 20

The river burst its banks during Storm Babet and charged towards homes in the local area (stock photo of River Leen)

‘It has destroyed everything in my bedroom on the ground floor. I had very sentimental items in there and lost a lot of shoes, and I had to spend a week washing the clothes I saved.

‘The furniture has had it because it is all swollen and smells – the room stinks. But despite all this damage they said there wasn’t heavy rainfall on that date which was crazy, the photos showed how bad it was.’

Despite providing photo evidence, Ms Balfour was told by an Admiral Group agent that weather records did not show any flooding within eight miles of her home.

‘I was told their weather website said no flooding happened nearby but on the Government website it took me two minutes to show the river levels,’ she told the publication.

‘They then said they were going to send someone in two weeks time to have a look, but there was nothing else to look at – it’s an empty room with the floor ripped up.’

READ MORE: Storm Babet leaves entire village underwater as floods devastate swathes of Britain 

Ms Balfour, who suffers from fibromyalgia and mental disabilities, has not been able to use her bedroom since the flooding more than three weeks ago.

She said that she has been left physically and mentally exhausted and concerned for her nine-year-old daughter who also lives in the property. 

Ms Balfour said she had contacted Admiral Group and had been ‘fobbed off 10 times’ since the flooding.

The insurer has now settled her claim and paid additional costs, Nottinghamshire Live reported.

The company admitted its agent had made a mistake when questioning the validity of her claim. 

A spokesperson said: ‘We’ve thoroughly investigated Ms Balfour’s home contents insurance claim and we would agree that there have been unacceptable delays and poor communication when dealing with this case, for which we are very sorry. We appreciate that this must be a stressful time for her and her daughter.

‘Our supplier advised Ms Balfour that she should speak with her landlord and ask them to investigate the ingress of water. Instead, they should have given Ms Balfour advice about how we would be supporting her through her claim, and we are very sorry that this information wasn’t provided to her. Feedback has been provided to the agent to ensure they are aware of our correct processes.

‘Claims relating to water damage are complex and take a long time to rectify, however, we would not expect a claim for contents only to be ongoing for as long as they have in this case. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and upheaval that this has caused Ms Balfour.

‘We always try to provide an excellent service to our customers and deal with any household claims quickly and efficiently. We completely agree that this hasn’t been the case on this occasion and Ms Balfour has had a poor experience.’

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