Grandmother whose car was destroyed in Luton Airport fire says insurance company finally admits it wasn't her fault
24 October 2023, 15:39
A grandmother who was told it was her fault that her car was destroyed in a fire at Luton Airport has said her insurer has finally agreed to pay out.
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Cath Glaze and her husband Martyn had left their £9,500 vehicle in the car park while they went on holiday to Portugal.
The Luton fire, which broke out on level three of the airport's multi-storey car park, is thought to have started in a diesel car and spread rapidly, causing structural damage and destroying as many as 1,500 cars.
Ms Glaze and her husband contacted their insurer after the car was destroyed in the fire, but were shocked to be told that they could be considered at fault.
But the insurer has now said it would be "settling all claims in relation to the fire that was in Luton Airport car parks as 'non fault'," the Mirror reports.
"We wish to take this opportunity to thank you for your patience and to advise you that we are doing everything we can to settle your claim as soon as possible," the firm added.
Ms Glaze previously 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."
Ms Glaze also said that the company had not given her a company car and said the couple's no-claim bonus could be affected. She said that she was given a payout of just £7,000.
Airport bosses said they had passed on the details of 1,405 cars to the Motor Insurer's Bureau.
Some 235 flights were cancelled due to the fire, affecting around 40,000 passengers.
Luton's operations director Neil Thompson said: "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."
It comes after police said on Monday that they had arrested a man in connection with the fire.
A spokesman for Bedfordshire Police said: "Police last week arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of criminal damage in connection to their investigation into a significant fire in a car park at London Luton Airport on Tuesday (10 October).
"We are carrying out a thorough and diligent investigation into all potential lines of enquiry, as should be expected after such a major event.
"The man has been released on bail while our enquiries continue."
