Compensation claim
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HELP for hauliers in danger of being put out of business by the French drivers' strike last month was being considered by the British Government as CM went to press. JACK SEMPLE reports.
The Government was also pressing the French administration for general compensation for British hauliers whose lorries were stranded in the Alps for up to 10 days. And the Government has urged that claims for compensation made by British drivers should be treated in the same light as those made by French nationals.
Road Haulage Association director-general Freddie Plaskett asked the Department of Transport to make funds available for hauliers in severe financial trouble because of the French strike when he met Transport Minister Lynda Chalker on Monday. It is understood that the decision was to be taken by Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley.
Mr Plaskett told CM that all hauliers whose vehicles were stranded should be compen sated for loss of use. "It seems that up to 500 vehicles were stranded for up to 10 days and that the actual loss of use cost could be up to £200 a day," he said. The claim for the industry for loss of use would probably be around £750,000.
Insurance companies were this week beginning to receive claims arising from the strike. A spokesman for the British Insurance Association said that insurers would take a sympathetic view when considering claims.
There should be no problem with goods in transit insurance if the driver has been staying in accommodation near his vehicle, he said, although a harder line would be taken if the load was a "target risk", such as tobacco or whisky, of if the driver abandoned the lorry.
Green card cover would be regarded as having been extended if the haulier, particularly an owner driver, had been unable to contact his insurer. But hauliers should try to keep in touch with their insurer, the BIA spokesman said.
Right: Lorries stranded 10 miles short of Mont Blanc in France last week.