Flood risk and home insurance

malfollie_01

Hi all,

Just trying to renew my home insurance and have had one come back that I am in a flood risk/subsidence area, then confused.com won't find me quotes because I am within 200m of a watercourse it is only a beck!!

I have looked on the environment agency website which does put my postcode within the blue bit. But my specific house isn't!

Help what do I do?
What are the rules on flood risks? How do I know if my house ever flooded?

Thanks all
Malfollie
xxxx:beer:

spirit

Hi Malfollie,

I fully sympathise as I have just pulled out of buying a property which is built on a floodplain therefore at high risk of flooding and/or subsidence.

Insurance companies are hotting up now on this risk I think since more incidents of flooding in recent years.

When I spoke to my current insurers (Barclays) about this new house, soon as I gave them the postcode there was the sharp intake of breath through the teeth. Oooh, they said this is slap bang on a flood plain, we would want a report from the Environment Agency. If you go on to the EA website, all it will say is that the property is in a high risk area.

there is another website, i think it is called Homecheck? I think I got onto it from upmystreet or aboutmyplace? Again you put in the postcode and like the traffic light system, it will say if you are in a Red (high risk) area, Orange (medium) or Green (no risk).

I think this can only get worse as we get more flooding events, they will either not want to insure affected - or potentially affected properties. Certainly they are going to increase premiums on them.

Oscar_The_Grouch

The problem with price comparison sites is that they are designed to cater for "Mr Average". If you have anything out of the ordinary, the system cannot cope. This is not a criticism of the comparision sites - there is nothing they can do about it because the non-standard risks require proper underwriting.

I'm afraid you are going to have to get the phone out and start ringing around.

Your first phone call should be to a local insurance broker. They live in your area so should know which insurers will look at your particular post code. After that, you need to concentrate on insurers that will actually underwrite a risk, rather than relying on computers. I know it sounds stupid, but you may want to look at the high net worth insurers. Companies such as Hiscox, Sterling, Chubb, Home & Legacy and Oak Underwriting don't just deal with people with money; they also look after the weird and wonderful. They employ proper underwriters to look at risks and ask sensible questions, rather than just "computer says no".

dacouch

Try Aviva, they won't have a problem with your house if it is within a flood area but your home is actually at a height above the flood area as they have access to sophisticated data showing this.

Also try a local broker as they will have local knowledge and will know which Insurers will accept you (They will not charge for a providing a quotation and there is no obligation)

Hiscox, Chubb and Oak will only accept affluent customers

cogito

Try Aviva, they won't have a problem with your house if it is within a flood area but your home is actually at a height above the flood area as they have access to sophisticated data showing this.

The trouble is that Aviva are bone idle and if their coputer say 'No', you really have to push them to carry out proper checks. I had this more than once lately with clients whose postcode put them in a high risk area but in reality had no possibility of being flooded due to their elevation.

dacouch

They rely on their own data which is from a radar map of most of the houses in the UK.

I find the quickest way is to ring them and ask for a flood check, they put the post code in and tell you the their rating of it from 1 to 10. They can then tell you if it's a flood risk to them, if it's low I get a quote, if it's high a give it the swerve.

It tends to be good on this type of client where there is a stream or brook and the actual home is elevated above the flood plain.

I know what you mean about the Aviva CS staff though, it can be hit or miss, I find this way saves going through the quote process if they don't like the post code.

I even use the above when my customers ask me whether a house they are looking at buying is in a flood risk area. I obviously explain to them it's not an exact science and only applies to Aviva but it can be helpful for some people before they start the process of buying a home and doing the conveyencing

huckster

The trouble with some of the data provided by the environment agency is that it is out of date.

I live in a medium flood risk area, as my house is about 30 metres away from a stream. In 1998 due to poor maintenance of the river by the authorities, during a period of high rain fall, the water backed up and the stream overflowed causing a small amount of flood damage to about 20 homes. These homes were exposed as they were on lower ground to others in the same road. But as I have a very similar postcode, I get included in the risk, even though the stream is deeper where I live and the house is more elevated.

Since the flooding in 1998, the Environment Agency annually maintain the banks of the stream by clearing weeds/plant growth away. So when there are periods of high rain fall, the stream rises but is allowed to flow away quicker.

I think the advice given before is correct that you need to phone companies for quotes, so you can supply additional information. Also a local broker can be a good source to obtain the cover you need.

malfollie_01

Thanks all I do love this house it is always so helpful
Thanks all
malfolle
xxxxxxxxxxx

lagoslife

Following the recent floods, the www.floodforum.org.uk/ were mentioned in a few articles for both flooding advice and how they helped those who had been refused insurance.

They may have a list of specialist brokers who you could contact?