A WOMAN whose £9,500 car was destroyed in the Luton Airport fire was left stunned when her insurance company claimed it was her fault.
Cath Glaze said that “traumatic and upsetting” experience of losing her motor was only made worse by the rejection of her claim.
Cath Glaze lost her car to the Luton Airport fire
Cath and her husband Martyn had been enjoying a holiday in Portugal and had left the car at the airport while they were away.
It is now one of the nearly 1,500 vehicles still in the burnt-out structure.
The couple praised EasyJet and Luton Airport for keeping them updated but said they still have no idea if the car will be “salvageable”.
After discovering the devastating news, the pair contacted their insurers, but were amazed when they were told they could be considered “at fault” over the loss.
Cath told The Mirror: “We contacted our insurance…[who] have now given us a final settlement offer, which is lower than what we need to buy a comparable vehicle and doesn’t include value for personal items.
“We now don’t have access to a vehicle, so it’s very difficult to do our normal day-to-day activities such as shopping, helping with the grandchildren, or going to test drive potential new cars.”
She also claimed that the company would not provide them with a courtesy car and have also informed her that she will lose her no-claims bonus over the blaze.
All the while, their settlement offer of £7,000 is £13,000 less than she paid for the car.
Luton Airport said it had passed on the details of 1,405 cars to the Motor Insurer’s Bureau.
Operations director Neil Thompson added: “We are continuing to focus on the safety and integrity of the car park.
“This will enable us to carry out a full assessment which, as we have previously said, can only happen once safety can be assured.
“We are continuing to work incredibly hard to provide insurers with this information as quickly as we can to assist them so, in turn, they can help those affected as quickly as possible.”
However, he said that he could not give a “definitive timeline” for the completion of the assessment as the airport is taking a safety-first approach.
It comes after cops probing the blaze made an arrest, with an unnamed man in his 30s questioned on suspicion of criminal damage.
Meanwhile, the cause of the terrible fire was revealed, with fire crews denying rumours it was started by an EV.
PAHowever, she claims her insurance company told her she is ‘at fault’ and that she will lose her no claims bonus[/caption]