For hundreds of Dutch people it will certainly take until the end of the year before they can go home again after the flooding in Limburg. According to insurers Interpolis and Centraal Beheer, the houses first have to dry for weeks before repair work can be started.
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More than half of the 950 claims reported to insurance company Centraal Beheer so far are so serious that people are not yet able to go home. Centraal Beheer has approximately 100 cases that have been displaced for a longer period of time, Interpolis has 100 to 200 people among its own customers who will not be able to go home until the end of the year. Interpolis previously had almost 1,300 damage reports.
Cracks in walls and beams
The most serious damage suffered by Centraal Beheer comes from the area around the river Geul, such as Valkenburg aan de Geul and Schin op Geul. In some cases, houses are in serious condition, with cracks in walls and beams. The insurer cannot yet say exactly how many cases this concerns. However, the repair on the inside of a house has priority over repair on the outside.
According to Centraal Beheer, the recovery will also take longer due to a lack of capacity among contractors and materials. “That is one of the biggest challenges,” said a spokeswoman. Insurer Interpolis confirms this picture. “A large group of people now want to have repair work done at the same time. That is difficult to arrange quickly.”
In the coming weeks, Centraal Beheer says it will be busy handling the inspections and the accompanying guidance, such as temporary housing. The insurer uses its network of holiday and rental properties for this. Many holiday homes are fully booked due to the summer holidays, but they still manage to offer people accommodation. In its own words, Interpolis works together with municipalities, among others, to accommodate people.
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