2023 La Laine earthquake: rent support for displaced victims

Called upon to act “faster,” insurers have just made an unprecedented decision in favor of victims of the earthquake of June 16, 2023 in La Laine, Cram-Chaban and nearby municipalities, Charente-Maritime and Deux-Montagnes. . The rent these people previously paid for their hasty relocation will now be “covered” by their insurance companies – about twenty people have signed up for this.

This announcement, received this Thursday from the prefecture of Charente-Maritime, affects about 150 families, which evokes a “strong commitment”. After the earthquake, some victims were forced to pay temporary rent while paying off their property loans. “Double punishment,” sums up Mathieu Priez, president of the victims’ collective. He himself pays 500 euros every month to live in a mobile home while waiting for his home to be repaired.

Citizen, media and political pressure

For insurers, citizen, media and political pressure has clearly become too much, agrees Mathieu Priez, who has threatened to publicly expose the bad actors. “It’s a shame to have to come to this, but we had to involve our elected officials, the prefect and even the prime minister,” recalls Laurent Renaud, the mayor of Cram-Chaban, referring to the arrival of Gabriel Attal in February.

If it is not retroactive, this commitment will allow support to be provided to victims on a case-by-case basis and, for the better, until the work is completed. “The sky is finally clearing, we are at a turning point,” says Mathieu Priez, who is working alongside parliamentarians to improve compensation for victims of natural disasters: “What we experienced will inevitably happen to others…”