Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

UK woman told to pay extra home insurance to host Ukrainian family

UK woman told to pay extra home insurance to host Ukrainian family

John Lewis demanded extra £41.74 despite industry’s promise hosts will not be penalised
A Kent woman who has invited a Ukrainian family of refugees into her home was told by John Lewis Home Insurance that she had to pay an extra £41 a year as a result.

Despite promises by the Association of British Insurers that people would not be penalised for taking in those fleeing the Ukrainian war, John Lewis demanded an extra £41.74 from Cath Bateman, on top of the £381 it recently charged to renew her home insurance.

Bateman, who lives in a terrace house in Dartford, decided to offer the Ukrainian family somewhere to stay after learning that they were crammed into a small house.

The family – a mother, her daughter aged 12 and four-year-old son – had been rescued from Poland by the mother’s sister, who is originally from Ukraine but now lives in the UK.

After the Guardian raised her case with the company, John Lewis said a mistake had been made, and that Bateman would be refunded.

“I don’t have a big house but had two free rooms and offered to put them up when I learned that they were having to sleep on the floor,” said the retired teacher.

“I thought I had better tell my insurer – more out of courtesy than anything – but couldn’t believe it when they called me back to say that I would have to pay an extra £41. It feels completely wrong.”

At the start of the conflict the Association of British Insurers said the industry stood “united with the people of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion” and that people housing refugees would not face financial penalty.

“If you are a homeowner in the UK and want to temporarily house refugees who have been displaced from the conflict in Ukraine as non-paying guests in your home, you do not need to inform your insurer and your cover will remain the same,” it said.

“This applies for the first 12 months of any refugees living with you, including when your policy is due for renewal. After 12 months, if any refugees are still living with you, then you should tell your insurer when you next renew your policy.”

A spokesperson for John Lewis said: “We aren’t charging any additional premiums for our customers who are welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes. We’re very sorry a mistake was made in this case and the customer will receive a full refund.”

This was just one issue faced by Bateman. She has been told that because the family were brought into the UK on a family visa by the sister, she will not be able to claim the £350 a month payments the government has offered. She has also been told that she has to get a £95 gas boiler safety certificate at her own expense.

“I’m still really pleased I have done it, and we are getting on well. However, the authorities could certainly do more to make it easier. Why those who help people who are brought in on family visas are not entitled to the £350 payments is beyond me. All our attempts to address this have so far failed.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×