Flood, damages and compensation

Question: My home has been flooded following the recent heavy rain and the developer has refused to accept any responsibility for the lack of drainage. I need to spend thousands of dirhams to replacing the contents. Do I have any recourse?

Answer: I am afraid it is going to be a very protracted and complex procedure to successfully obtain any compensation from the developer of the property. Take a very close look at the contract you have with them, however it is highly unlikely that you will be able to convince them that they are negligent.

If you decide to take your dispute to the courts it may take months to come to a resolution and you will have to invest a great deal of time, effort, and money in something which is going to be difficult to prove in your favour.

While I am the bearer of bad news, your story is by no means an unusual one and you may take comfort in the fact that it is estimated that more than 95 per cent of home owners in the UAE do not have any general insurance to cover their property or belongings.

Many people think that they only need to take out general insurance to protect their property against theft and, as the UAE has a very low crime rate, residents here often take comfort in the knowledge they are unlikely to be affected.

We are fortunate to live in a safe country, but we have also recently seen how the natural environment can have an impact on our daily lives. The drainage in many developments is not sufficient on the rare occurrences when we have had such a volume of rain as we have had over the past couple of weeks, to deal with it all.

The cost of the water damage to property in the UAE is likely to run into many millions of dirhams as all of the associated effects are considered, yet the cost of taking out general cover for homes and businesses would have been a fraction of that cost.

For example, to insure Dh200,000 worth of valuables kept within your property would cost within the region of just Dh800 per year. The cost is relatively cheap as the actuaries who assess the risk on behalf of insurance companies calculate the possibility of loss, and due to the safe nature of the UAE, the annual price is set at around 0.4 per cent of the total value.

To ensure peace of mind and reassurance that the policies you choose covers the areas you expect it to, it is worth investing some time with an accredited independent financial advisor who will be able to source a policy which best suits your overall needs.

As your property has been affected by the recent rain, it is likely that it will remain at risk of any future inclement weather. Now is the ideal time to ensure the new items you have purchased to re-fit your home are covered from any future damage. Take photographs of all items in your house and visit an independent financial advisor.

- The writer is Deputy CEO at Nexus, one of the region's leading financial advisors.

The opinions expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gulf News. If you have questions, please email us at advice@gulfnews.com