Compensation Claims to Rise After Riots

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Business owners targeted by rioters in London, Birmingham and Manchester this week were relieved to hear David Cameron confirm that the police would be expected to cover the costs incurred by mobs looting, vandalising and setting fire to their properties. The first of the riots took place in a branch of JD sports and saw youths, their faces uncovered, raiding the shop for high-end sportswear before sitting down casually outside to swap their stolen single trainers until they made a pair. The riots have not only cost business owners their livelihoods. Homes and cars have been extensively damaged in the looters' wake, affecting innocent homeowners as well as anyone unlucky enough to be parked in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The legislation in question is taken from the 1886 Riot Damages Act, which states that people can claim compensation from the local council or police force for damages following a riot. The claims period was extended to 42 days due to the extent of the damage caused by the riots. Their willingness to cover victims' losses shows a move by the government towards acceptance of what accident claims solicitors have argued for years - that people who suffer wrongful losses or injuries are entitled to compensation.

Compensation in other cases

Another way in which people can protect themselves against losing out financially in troubled times is by paying attention to the terms of the Financial Services Compensation Fund, or FSCS. This fund exists to protect those who save with authorised British banks from losing their money should the bank become bankrupt. But be warned - the fund only covers individual losses of up to £85,000, so savers with a larger nest egg hidden away in their bank should be careful to split up their money between different accounts and banks, a move which is not only advisable but perfectly legal. Claims solicitors advise that anyone wishing to claim for this or any other financial loss, including those missold payment protection insurance (PPI) or other banking services, should first contact the company and then the Financial Ombudsman Service to make a claim.

Claiming compensation after an accident

Anyone who has had an accident or suffered an injury through no fault of their own is also entitled to make a claim, and could be entitled to receive no win no fee compensation. Claims have successfully been made against big companies and local authorities alike, with the payout being determined both by the degree of injury and the failure of the body in charge. Work accident compensation, and indeed all of these forms of compensation, have one thing in common - they were made available to protect innocent people from paying for someone else's mistake.