Thousands of homeowners to sue over insurance fees related to cladding scandal

Homeowners whose insurance premiums have soared due to the cladding scandal are set to launch a group legal action in a bid to recoup secret commission fees they have unwittingly paid to freeholders.

- ANDY GREGORY

Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, insurance premiums for thousands of buildings affected by the cladding scandal have skyrocketed, with The Independent recently highlighting the case of a homeowner in Hertfordshire who saw her saw her annual bill soar from £247 to £2,626 in just two years.

But with the government having so far failed to step in and help to reduce premiums for these homeowners, as many as 900,000 leaseholders are estimated to have also been forced to pay a hidden commission – which is often split between the insurance broker and the building’s freeholder.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned in 2022 that such commissions tended to be worth 30 per cent of the premium but could be as high as 62 per cent, more than half of which was paid out to the freeholder – the owner of the block in nearly four out of 10 cases analysed.

Now a lawyer who successfully challenged a £100,000 commission charged at his block of flats in London’s Docklands earlier this month is spearheading a class action lawsuit which hopes to recoup millions of pounds secretly paid out to freeholders and insurance brokers.