Hooray for insurance
Every couple of years we seem to have a disaster at the Refuge, which results in one of the houses being closed for a couple of weeks or months while it's made habitable again. Most often it's chip-pan fires, once it was an outbreak of infectious disease and this time it's something rather more dramatic and entertaining in a 'thank goodness no one was hurt' sort of way (had better not specify because of potential confidentiality issues. But take my word for it, it's quite funny).
Usually when this happens the Council rehouses the residents temporarily in B&B accommodation until we can reopen. This is awful for the women and particularly awful for the children. Our accommodation is far from luxurious (well, apart from our new-build, which is FAB. Although not actually luxurious, just much better than most Refuges) but at least there are proper nicely designed kitchens, dining rooms, lounges and playrooms and outside space for the kids. And (when it's working well) the residents form a mutually supportive community themselves, as well as getting support from the staff and volunteers. You don't get any of that in Council-funded B&Bs.
But since last time, we have taken out something called 'business interruption insurance'. I had never heard of it, but apparently it does what it says on the tin and it is paying for the affected residents to stay in a local 4* hotel with breakfast and dinner provided and all their laundry done. Of course it's still unsettling and there are still practical difficulties, but it's a hell of a lot better than a B&B. I'm generally very sceptical about insurance - it costs too much and hardly ever pays out. But this type seems to have come up trumps.
Usually when this happens the Council rehouses the residents temporarily in B&B accommodation until we can reopen. This is awful for the women and particularly awful for the children. Our accommodation is far from luxurious (well, apart from our new-build, which is FAB. Although not actually luxurious, just much better than most Refuges) but at least there are proper nicely designed kitchens, dining rooms, lounges and playrooms and outside space for the kids. And (when it's working well) the residents form a mutually supportive community themselves, as well as getting support from the staff and volunteers. You don't get any of that in Council-funded B&Bs.
But since last time, we have taken out something called 'business interruption insurance'. I had never heard of it, but apparently it does what it says on the tin and it is paying for the affected residents to stay in a local 4* hotel with breakfast and dinner provided and all their laundry done. Of course it's still unsettling and there are still practical difficulties, but it's a hell of a lot better than a B&B. I'm generally very sceptical about insurance - it costs too much and hardly ever pays out. But this type seems to have come up trumps.