Unpopular post about the tower block fire

Why do people who have lost everything in the fire get a share of £5m and £5500 cash up front given to them? Isn't that what insurance is for?

That sounds very cold but it isn't meant to, I just wasn't sure of the correct way to word it. What I actually mean is what is the usual handout when a home is burnt down? Do the government/local council step in and give the person money straight away or are they expected to claim on their insurance? What happens if you haven't bothered to get insurance?

As I said ignore the tone of the opening sentence.

 

Would you feel the same about those affected by Hurricane Katrina? Or terrorism after all their is life insurance and personal injury insurance. It's beyond an individual having to deal with a house fire




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People who are in this situation, cant exactly go to their bottom drawer, pull out their insurance policy & sit down & fill in a claim form now can they, Come on think about it, they have got f all, not even a change of clothes !

 

The majority of the residents in this tragedy appear to be immigrants so quite a number probably didn't have
sufficient spare cash to take out insurance. Even if they did until the cause is known the insurers are unlikely to
offer to pay out anyway plus they probably would only insure their possessions if their flat didn't belong to them.

For items of high value you have to provide proof of ownership. A lot of people submit photographs of items when
they take the policy out. The insurer would want to see this proof at the time of claim but all that along with clothes, bedding
and other possessions have probably been lost in the fire.

Following 9/11 forensic specialists identified a lot of the victims from DNA found on toothbrushes, clothes and possessions taken from their homes. It would appear from statements being made by some of the Rescue services a lot of victims in this fire have literally been cremated and so with no surviving DNA it might literally take years to identify them.

 

You can't go to the bottom drawer if your 1 bed in Their scope burns down either can you?

Like I said the tone of the first sentence was wrong, I knew that when I wrote it but I was struggling to word it in a matter of fact way.

 

No I don't believe in the conspiracy theories either though in all these things there is clearly a smidgeon of insight in them. Austerity and putting profits before people the absence of accountability and responsibility are definitely contributory factors. The people died because they are poor. The survivors are being dealt with shoddily because they are poor. It's bound to make them turn to conspiracy theories.


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I would argue that they didn't really die because they were poor they died because of a shocking balls up by somebody somewhere who tried cutting costs. I wouldn't say it was because they were poor any more than if a council flat in Barnsley went up in flames. They were in social housing but not specifically that one due to their lack of wealth.

Still terrible though obviously and I don't blame those affected for feeling like there is a conspiracy. It's just a shame that the media is fuelling that anger. The response has been quite strange. Throw money at them but give them no actual support.

 

From a Telegraph Journo.

We will have to agree to disagree. I believe a 100 percent that they died because they are poor and in the aftermath if they were rich they would be treated differently. I understand the anger. I feel it. In one of the richest places on earth we treat are poorest citizens like fodder.





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Thing is, if you were rich it wouldn't really affect you in the same way. You would probably have a second home or rich friends to stay with. Or you would have a top notch insurance which pay to put you up in The Ritz or whet have you.

 

He says it better than me.


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I tend to find things that seem very cold are best not said in public.

Last thing that cross my mind when this loss of life was occurring was - oooo I wonder if they have house insurance.

 

And obviously that wasn't what I wondered too. What I wondered was when money is being made immediately available for them now rather than always. Or if it is ALWAYS given in house fires then why are we pretending that it is something extra being given?

 

The people affected have been placed in this situation through no fault of their own. They are tenants, not owners. The landlord MAY be in for some sort of payout but the tenant is pretty much helpless. If you lived in a house that burnt down and the cause of the fire turned out to be that of the proprietor, you would be the first in line for compensation, as would all of us. These people have nothing. How far do you thing five and a half grand will stretch in Kensington? Might just buy you breakfast.

 

Again that's kind of missing my point. What I was asking was is it common practice for victims of house (or flat) fires to have money given to them by the government or is it a one off? And if so why? What makes it different? Financially I mean, not emotionally as I totally get that.

 

The quickest way to get paid out in normal circumstances, is to claim through your own contents insurance rather than a lengthier process via the council's insurance. If your insurer finds the council at fault for the damage when it investigates, it will pay you out and then pursue the council to recover the monies.

 

It's not common practice is the simple answer. The people caught up in this tragedy have in most cases lost everything.
They have been sleeping on mattresses on concrete floors in nearby buildings and have had to rely totally on the humanity
and generosity of fellow citizens. That's why quite a lot of people myself included have been going on about at what a disgrace it all is. Some have been receiving a tenner a day. ! The great British public have donated upwards of £2 to a " Just Giving"
appeal but until a sponsor is put forward the money is not being released ( Just Giving are saying they are within their rights
to keep their charges for setting the account up which is said to be circa £118k by the way.)

Senior Civil Servants are now " on the ground" interviewing the people who need help and probably are assessing how much
of the £5 million each individual should be given. To my mind the main priority is to find them accommodation no matter
how temporary. After this nightmare is over "authorities" also need to have a massive re-think about social housing.
Putting people in " filing cabinets" in the sky is not the answer but again money will be advanced as the reason for not doing something to make peoples lives a little more bearable.

As already said in a previous posting they can however find the dosh to stage the three hour extravaganza known as "Trooping the Colour" and £400 million to renovate a 700 plus room Palace that houses two OAP's.!

I'm not anti- Royal and in the right place think that on the whole the Monarchy are valued by the majority of citizens.
But to my mind whatever their hue/affinity political parties do seem able to get their priorities a little muddled at times.!

 

Its strange that high-rise accommodation is ok in most other large cities in the world - including China (Hong Kong especially) and other places with significantly laxer H&S rules and building regs than the UK, but we can't keep the residents safe. IMHO high-rise living is the only way to keep up with demand in places like London where floor space is at a premium, Government should be doing everything they can to make these building safe - even if it does cost extra.

 

How many large scale residences have you seen go up in flames or brought down in an explosion recently?

It's the scale of this thing combined with it's rarity that makes it an issue that the government should step in and resolve.

There are plans for assistance in the case of flooding, the Environment Agency take a lead in coordinating.

Also, probably caused by Kensington Council penny pinching which was caused by government austerity.

 

I believe that the Local Authority has a duty to bury someone who has no money, similarly they have a duty to house and clothe?? those who are made homeless through no fault of their own.
Guess it's easier to give each person made homeless K5.5 directly rather than get K+CB Council to administer it.