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Insurance blow after blaze destroys home
A FOSTER carer whose house and worldly possessions were destroyed in an arson attack is homeless - after his insurance company told him the policy he has been paying for years is not valid.
Council caretaker Jack Barton, aged 56, his wife Denise, 57, and their foster son Cornell Johnson, 12, fled as an empty property on their row was torched in June and the blaze spread to their home on Beaumont Avenue, Manor Park Centre.
All their belongings were destroyed in the fire and their home was left uninhabitable.
For the last three months Jack has been locked in a war of words with Axa, his insurance company, who say his policy is invalid because of a previous arson attack at his address - which he claims he declared.
Today Jack, who is currently living in a council home on East Bank Road, Arbourthorne, said: "It is absolutely scandalous.
"I have got no home, no contents, nothing - and now they're telling me my policy is null and void, even though I've paid it for the last however long.
"My house is completely gutted, but I'm still paying the mortgage on it and I've got no contents in my property."
Jack said Axa visited in the wake of the blaze and arranged for a contractor to remove all his damaged belongings.
They disposed of the goods and organised for the family to hire new belongings. Then Jack received a phone call from the company saying his policy was invalid.
He said: "I'm absolutely fuming. My wife is having a nervous breakdown and I am het up like you wouldn't believe.
"They knew about the first arson, I declared it. But they never said it would invalidate my policy.
"I can't understand what I've been paying for - I've lost everything and I want some answers."
A spokeswoman for Axa said Jack and Denise's policy was taken out by his broker Swinton Insurance. "Subsequent investigations have identified significant information had not been disclosed to us when this policy was set up," an Axa spokesman said.
"We would not have accepted Mr Barton's application for insurance had this information been given at the time, and the policy is therefore invalid.
"While we have supported Mr Barton's claim to date, and made significant payments for alternative accommodation, we have now referred him to his broker to progress matters."
A Swinton spokesman said: "We are aware of Mr Barton's current situation and are sympathetic to the circumstances in which he finds himself.
"We pride ourselves on the level of customer service we provide and are investigating this claim as a matter of urgency."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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