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STORM
For the six years he worked as a driver on the Continent, Brian Bradley cherished a dream to return home to Northern Ireland and drive for himself. But this summer's violence, sparked by the Orange Order parade in Portadown, brought back bad memories for him.
It was one year earlier, following a similar dispute over loyalist marches, when rioters put him out of business and wrecked his plans for the future.
As he came downstairs to answer the door to the police that morning, he looked through the window and saw flames shooting from his truck. It had been petrol-bombed by youths, and minutes later it was gutted.
Hopeless
The next morning, Bradley called his insurers—but his case was hopeless. Loss of property in a riot or civil disturbance has not been covered by insurance policies in Northern Ireland since the 1970S when the Association of British Insurers lobbied the Government to pick up the tab for this type of 'damage.
Bradley is one of hundreds who suffered such losses. Jimmy Quinn, former president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, estimates that up to 40 trucks were damaged in this year's troubles. So far, 300 claims for vehicle damage have been made to the Northern Ireland Office's Compensation Agency, the government body that reimburses those who have suffered in such circumstances.
Latest estimates suggest this year's bill could top £2m, but with a year allowed to lodge claims, and a police figure for damaged vehicles of 402, the final cost could be higher.
Insurers cannot be expected to cover what might as well be an act of war, says Nigel Harrison, commercial manager of L Hughes & Company, one of Northern Ireland's largest insurers. If it is suspected that a vehicle was lost in a riot, an insurer will wait for the official verdict on the circumstances of the loss in the Chief Constable's certificate.
This can take up to six months to be issued, however. In the meantime, hauliers affected can lodge two claims, one with the Compensation Agency and the other with the insurer.
"In practice, an insurer will reimburse the loss if the client is a big one and then wait for the government pay-out," says Harrison. But with a smaller client, they "would walk away from it".
For his £4,000 premium, Bradley argues that the insurer should not be allowed to turn its back. Harrison admits premiums in Northern Ireland are the highest in the UK, but puts this down to costly third-party awards rather than the political situation.
To start with, Bradley expected government help within a few months. Facing a £400 monthly bank payment on his old truck and garage bills on top of his commitments as a family man, Bradley needed money fast Looking back, he is grateful for small mercies. He was about to sign a contract to buy another truck, which luckily had not gone through.
After four months of waiting, with no settlement in sight, he was forced to start driving again. Describing the wait for compensation as "useless", he claims the loss "broke us". An interim payment, after three months, accounting for a quarter of the final settlement, but did little to ease the strain.
This July, Bradley received payment from the Compensation Agency for the truck he lost a year earlier. It could have been worse— not long ago, such a pay-out took up to two years. Bradley does not think he will use the money to buy again because the risk of not • getting work is too great. "Once you're in and have work, everyone is frying to get it," he says. "When you're out, you're out."
The Agency's valuation, based on the truck's book price, was fair, says Bradley, although he admits his Scania would have fetched more on the market. But he is angry about a two-week limit put on his claim for lost income. If he had received compensation immediately, it would have taken at least six weeks to get a new truck on the road.
Bradley says a special government body should be set up to deal with the interests of small businessmen in his situation.
Reroutin9
During July s unrest, Sean McGeekan, who runs a family haulage business in Draperstown, tried to avoid trouble by rerouting his vehicles, adding up to 60 miles to journeys. "The problem is, you don't know if you're avoiding trouble or going into it," he says.
For drivers unlucky enough to get into "trouble", the experience can be traumatic. Despite precautions, McGeekan suffered heavy losses. Two of his trucks were hijacked and one was burnt out. The loss of £10,000 during the time his vehicles were off the road and the expense of hiring replacements has"stretched his resources".
The destruction of one truck means writing off a large asset. This has implications for the value of McGeekan's business and consequently for obtaining finance. He says the loss put pressure on him to consider redundancies. and he is calling for a substantial interim payment to help him through the crisis.
Although many have suffered losses, hauliers seem to be adopting a positive attitude, pinning their hopes on a brighter future. Some prefer not to talk about the recent violence, preferring to focus on the new peace. But disturbances caused by contentious marches in recent weeks are a reminder of the continuing potential for violence. "You don't know when it is going to blow up in this country," says McGeekan.
Everyone hopes the issue of adequate compensation for hauliers affected by this sort of violence will not arise again. For now, their commitment to the future makes them want to banish questions that bring back memories of a darker past.