The British Damage Management Association (BDMA) has demanded to be included in government talks on the insurance industry's response to the recent floods crisis.
Claims contractors appear to have been left out of recent discussions arranged between civil servants and the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
A spokesman said: “We have met officials from the Treasury and they were reassured by the steps insurers are taking in flood damaged areas.”
However, when asked if loss adjuster and contractor interests were present, he replied they were not.
BDMA chairman Jeff Charlton said the recovery and restoration industry should be represented as the accreditation body involved in the post-floods clear-up.
He said: “If the government is talking to insurers without the BDMA then it does not seem to make much sense. The BDMA promotes standards, competence and professionalism in addition to offering insurers the opportunity to identify bona fide contractors.”
Charlton said he had written to the deputy prime minister John Prescott, asking the government to address the problem of shoddy work and poor-quality contractors.
He told Insurance Times that his company Restorex had been involved in flood restoration work and was shocked at the quality of some of the other contractors' work.
Charlton said he had seen contractors scrap machinery in a water-damaged warehouse while his firm was able to salvage similar equipment in a neighbouring building.
In response to the concerns over shoddy contractors, the BDMA has issued a set of guidelines on basic recovery procedures for businesses and homeowners.
Full details of which can be obtained from its website, bdma.org.uk.
