All UK home insurance should include flood cover: Flood Re

Flood Re has come out in favour of the Blanc Review’s key recommendation that all UK home insurance products should include flood cover as standard.

“For home insurance to be effective, it is vital that all eligible at risk households are able to get flood cover that is both available and affordable,” said Andy Bord, chief executive of Flood Re.

Flood Re pledged to continue working with the Association of British Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers Association to ensure consumers are well informed about choosing the right policies.

“Consumers in flood-prone parts of the country should use all of the channels available to them – which includes brokers, price comparison sites and contacting insurers directly – to get the best cover for their home,” said Bord.

Bord praised Flood Re’s achievement in expanding the availability of affordable home insurance for homes in high flood risk areas in the UK since it launched in April 2016. Today, 96 percent of households with prior flood claims are able to receive quotes from five or more insurers, he said. Four out of five householders with previous flood claims have seen a price reduction of more than 50 percent since the scheme’s introduction.

Bord also emphasised the importance of other measures to mitigate risk for households. “It is also important to ensure that homes in flood-prone areas are well protected through the installation of flood resilience and resistance measures,” he said. “This is why we have made proposals in our Quinquennial Review to allow insurers to ‘build back better’ once properties have been flooded, as well as allowing discounted premiums to reward those householders who proactively install flood resilience measures in their home.”

Bord promised that Flood Re will work with Defra and other stakeholders to implement such changes once the proposals have been approved by parliament.