Flood insurance

New data released by the government shows that 11 flood warnings remain in place after the recent slew of heavy rain which had catastrophic consequences across several English counties. Some of the areas affected by the floods suffered a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours. There was a sad loss of life, a group of people were forced to camp out in a shopping centre, and more than 1,200 properties were evacuated.

The misery of many affected was compounded by the revelation that their insurance wouldn’t cover their losses. A lack of flood insurance can particularly affect businesses which don’t benefit from the Flood Re scheme, which was introduced in 2016 to enable homeowners to afford the flood element of home insurance. Not only does Flood Re not cover businesses, it doesn’t apply to the 1.7million households (post-2009) which are banned from the scheme due to being built in areas at high risk of flooding.

Yet there are options for homeowners whose properties are built in these high-risk areas. Adrian Flux are one of only a few brokers able to offer adequate coverage to those homeowners, favouring a case by case approach as opposed to a postcode-based exclusion system. Flooding causes untold damage, but the discovery of a lack of insurance need not prove an extra burden.

Aston spoke to Louis Wills, household quotes manager at Adrian Flux to discuss floods and options surrounding flood insurance.