- UK flood warnings have risen by 170% previously 12 months, reaching 1,578
- Cost of insuring a flood-prone dwelling has risen by common of £99 in final 12 months
- Government grants can be found to improve houses which have flooded earlier than
The price of insuring a property that has beforehand been flooded has risen by £99 in only one 12 months because the variety of flood warnings issued continues to rise, analysis claims.
You can count on to pay a mean dwelling insurance coverage premium of £451 per 12 months on a property that has beforehand been flooded as of January this 12 months, knowledge from Compare the Market exhibits, rising 28 per cent from £352 in January 2023.
The rise in premiums comes as the variety of flood warnings issued in 2023 surged by 170 per cent, reaching 1,578.
This is in comparison with simply 584 in 2022 and 871 warnings in 2021, in line with Environment Agency knowledge obtained by Compare the Market through a freedom of knowledge request.
Steep rise: The price of insuring a flood-prone dwelling has risen by £99 in a 12 months
The rise in flood warnings, Compare the Market stated, was partly as a result of UK’s battering by storm Agnes, storm Babet and storm Ciaran within the latter months of the 12 months.
Helen Phipps, director at Compare the Market, stated: ‘With storms and flooding turning into extra frequent, it is a good suggestion to evaluate your private home insurance coverage coverage and to examine if you’re dwelling in a flood-risk space.
‘The dwelling insurance coverage market has seen a decline within the variety of folks taking out a coverage over the past three years, which means many households might be left uninsured, and out of pocket, if stormy climate or floods trigger injury to their houses.
‘The excellent news is that UK households appear to be taking motion – we noticed an 80 per cent leap year-on-year in visits to Compare the Market for dwelling insurance coverage after Storm Isha this January.’
How can folks in flood-prone areas get insured?
For those that personal a property that’s liable to flooding, the price of insuring your private home shall be greater as a result of added danger of doing so.
In some high-risk areas, it could be arduous to search out an insurer who’s keen to promote you a coverage in any respect.
Joint schemes run by the Government and insurance coverage corporations, akin to Flood Re, can supply these at a excessive danger of flooding capped insurance coverage costs for these whose houses have greater than 1.3 per cent likelihood of flooding.
Owning a property in shut proximity to a physique of water can be more likely to improve the price of your insurance coverage, even when it has by no means flooded earlier than.
Can you get cowl? Homes in flood-prone areas may be troublesome to insure, with some suppliers refusing to supply insurance policies as a result of excessive flood danger
According to knowledge kind the Environment Agency, warnings for fluvial floods, or the flooding of waterways like rivers, jumped to 1,295 in 2023, in contrast with simply 405 the 12 months earlier than.
Compare the Market stated the price of insuring a property close to a water physique has risen by 29 per cent, or £48, per 12 months in January, to £204 from simply £166 beforehand.
However, this determine is barely six per cent greater than the price of insuring a property that’s not located close to water, with the common price of dwelling insurance coverage having risen by £48 year-on-year to £204.
It stated: ‘Flood cowl is usually included as commonplace in most buildings and contents insurance coverage insurance policies, and can cowl your private home and its contents in opposition to water injury.
‘Homeowners ought to observe, nevertheless, that there may be necessary exclusions relying on their degree of canopy. For occasion, most insurance policies don’t cowl injury to components of your private home like fences, gates, and hedges.
‘Comparing insurance policies on-line might show you how to kind a greater understanding of the completely different choices accessible, and chances are you’ll discover a deal that’s extra inexpensive or a greater match on your circumstances.’
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