Flood risk owners thrown life ring

Published: 04/07/2013

A deal reached between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) means homeowners at high risk of flooding will be guaranteed affordable flood insurance.

The news will come as a huge relief to many hundreds of thousands of homeowners who could have found themselves unable to insure their high risk properties against flooding.

How it will work

All UK household insurers will be required to pay a new industry-backed levy which will then create a pool to pay any claims made in relation to flooding. Flood insurance premiums will then be linked to council tax bands so policy holders will fully understand the cost implications.

Lynne McCaffrey is the Head of Property at Goldsmith Williams:

“According to latest figures from the Environmental Agency, one in every six properties are at risk of flooding so this is fantastic news for all affected homeowners who could have found themselves in an untenable position.

“For anyone buying a property it is important to consider if it could be at risk of flooding. Unlike many conveyancers, we automatically run an environmental search on your property and will order a flood risk report if we discover it is within the vicinity of a floodplain.

“We do this as part of our all-inclusive search fee so clients can be confident it won’t cost the earth and they can adequately insure the property.”

The new agreement will replace the current ‘Statement of Principles’ which runs out at the end of the month.

Content correct at time of publication