For many years property developers (in conjunction with local authority agreement) have been encouraged to build in areas that have previously been known as flood plains. So it should hardly be a surprise that they are now flooding again.
We work closely with underwriters, insurers and insurance brokers every day and are very familiar with insurers’ views on covering things which are rapidly becoming a certainty rather than a risk especially as one in six homes are currently at risk of flooding and the amount paid by Insurers since 2000 now exceeds £4.5 billion.
These are worrying figures indeed and one has to draw the conclusion that this cannot and probably will not be allowed continue.
When you then look at this in conjunction with the government’s recent announcement to cut spending on flood defenses we appear to have a disaster just waiting to happen.
Many people will of course think that none of this really matters as they have flood insurance but for how much longer ?
An agreement was reached between the Insurance Industry and the Government a few years ago to ensure that flood cover remains available to all existing customers. Note the word ‘existing’; this insurance won’t be much use when you want to insure a property in a known flood area for the first time!
What has also largely escaped the news is that this agreement expires at the end of June 2013 and at present insurers are under no obligation to extend this. And they are not very likely to do so when claims continue to rise and the government is not investing in flood defenses.
Not being able to obtain flood insurance will make some properties unfit for sale, as potential purchasers will not be able to secure a mortgage or advance against a property that is not fully insured, we have many years experience in arranging house insurance for properties in flood risk areas and can arrange for insurance that you can pass onto potential purchasers.
One less barrier to selling your house.
