Property showing as flood risk/insurance help

rizla83

Hi Guys,

I am currently in the process of buying a property and during the process of putting insurance in place it has been brought to my attention that the area is classed as at risk of flooding. This has resulted in the vast majority of insurance providers rejecting my application and in some cases offering ridiculous premiums of up to £3,000 per year.

I currently live only a few streets away from the address in question and I have never recalled the area flooding.

I have contacted the current owner of the property and she has advised that she was totally unaware that it has been reassessed and deemed to be a flood risk. She is currently insured for buildings and contents for a very average amount of around £230 per year. She has lived in the property for 8 years and has never had any issues with flooding.

The reason for this I would assume to be the small beck which is roughly 300 meters away from the property. After researching the internet it appears there may have been a small flood issue on a street further west of the property and since the incident the local council have put flood defences in place (which are not showing on the flood map) and also rerouted the beck further away from the properties and also improved the back overflow system.

if i put this info to the environmental agency would they be able to take some action against it and possibly re class it a non flood risk area?

It seems stupid that the council would spend £500,000 realigning the beck to prevent flooding and then the EA still class it as a flood risk area!?

thanks,

Quentin

Get advice off your solicitor.

This looks grounds for a price reduction if you really want to carry on with the purchase.