Blog: Riots and claims, five years after the London unrest

While it's not our job to consider the why, our industry is nevertheless intimately involved in any potential aftermath of public disorder and now, on the fifth anniversary of the London Riots, the insurance industry can reflect on a hugely challenging period in which our work to help ordinary homeowners and businesses eventually led to much needed reform.

The Riot (Damages) Act 1886 became the subject of debate immediately as the trouble started, when the reality of such high claims volumes and the need to submit them to police authorities within 14 days made the task extremely difficult.

Properties as diverse as department stores and electronics warehouses were being burned to the ground, while hundreds of homes and small businesses across London and beyond were destroyed by fire, their contents frequently looted beforehand.

And adjusters were having dificulty accessing sites that had been cordoned off as crime scenes or were too dangerous to enter.

As the worst of the rioting subsided, then Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 11 August that the time period to lodge claims against police authorities would be extended from 14 to 42 days, a requirement that the insurance industry had lobbied hard to achieve in negotiations with the Home Office and the Treasury.

In addition to the time constraints, there were other challenges that needed to be overcome.

Damage was occurring over a wide geographical area and the cause was never officially declared ‘riot' by police authorities. Therefore, our clients and their customers were anxious for information and we remained in constant contact.

Technical arguments
One topic that rose quickly on the agenda was the likelihood that technical arguments would be used by defendants - police authorities - such as the rather arbitrary notion that ‘riotous behaviour must involve at least 12 people'. Customers whose properties had apparently been damaged by 11 individuals or fewer required our reassurance that, despite these opportunistic defences, we would ensure repair estimates would be as detailed as possible on their behalf, supported by our own reports and those of other experts such as surveyors and so on.

Fast forward to 2016 and the hard work of the insurance industry has paid off in many regards, but there have also been disappointments. The Supreme Court in April this year reversed an earlier decision to compensate business interruption claims under the Riot Act, but the royal assent in March of the Riot Compensation Act 2016 saw a small victory for the sector as the legislation now promises coverage as standard, albeit with a £1m per claim limit, and coverage for motor vehicles, previously excluded.

The legacy of 2011 isn't easy to sum up in terms of a victory for the insurance sector, but in an age of social media, where events can quickly escalate, there is some comfort in the clarity and extra time secured by a new Riot Compensation Act. Not only do we have 42 days to bring claims, but a further 90 days from the date of claim to submit evidence and details. This kind of clarity should bring at least some comfort to anyone in fear of civil unrest that their claim will be covered.