Floods and house insurance

Katykat

We live in an area that is within 400m of a canal. For this reason we have to pay a premium on our insurance. Over the years this has gone up & up. We have recently spoken to some friends who live in a different area and they have had flood doors fitted ( free) which is intended to reduce their insurance. I can't find out whether our council provide this or how to access this scheme. Any information would be appreciated.

Quentin

Councils that give grants for flood doors to be fitted usually only get the money (off Govt) to give to houses that have experienced flooding.


This grant is intended to give protection rather than reduce insurance premiums!


(Wasn't the canal there when you decided to move in)

Katykat

(Wasn't the canal there when you decided to move in)[/QUOTE]



Is the point of this question that it's our own fault for buying the house?

Quentin

Looking now to get a grant with the objective of reducing your premium (not the intention of the grant!) does look to be something you should have looked at before buying it.


Presumably you knew the problem regarding higher premium before you bought?

RockOnZombies

Is it actually a canal or a river your next to? Canal's usually have a residual flood risk through bank failure only, similar to reservoir flood risk, as their flows are usually tightly controlled through the use of lock gates, sluices etc to maintain navigable water levels.

May be worth talking to the body who looks after the canal about how it's managed a first port of call then challenging the insurance company on their assessment of the risk, it may be overstated.

Katykat

Quentin wrote: »

Looking now to get a grant with the objective of reducing your premium (not the intention of the grant!) does look to be something you should have looked at before buying it.


Presumably you knew the problem regarding higher premium before you bought?

No we didn't. We bought the house 40 yrs ago, before insurance companies levied the premium. The canal has never flooded because it drains into a large river and is well served with lock gates, but that doesn't stop the ins companies charging us anyway. And the grant system is intended to help reduce insurance premiums, that's how it was put to our friends anyway.

Quentin

Katykat wrote: »

.....And the grant system is intended to help reduce insurance premiums, that's how it was put to our friends anyway.

Your friends have misunderstood this grant.


The grant is intended to help those hit by flooding to protect their property against the next flood!


Why should we all pay for a grant simply to help you reduce your insurance premium? (From what you say you don't need any flood doors!)


Follow the MSE guide to home insurance and see if you can get a better deal elsewhere

Katykat

Flood insurance: making sure people get a fair deal
We’re working with the insurance industry and others to make sure that home insurance is widely available and affordable in flood risk areas, and that this doesn’t cause insurance prices to rise for other people.

On 27 June 2013 we announced an agreement with the insurance industry to guarantee affordable flood insurance for people in high risk areas. The industry’s proposal – called Flood Re – would replace the current voluntary agreement (the Statement of Principles).

Part 4 in the Water Act 2014 sets out the broad scope of the regulations and how Flood Re will operate.

We published the government’s response to the consultation on the draft regulations necessary for the implementation of Flood Re in December 2014. We have reviewed the draft regulations to reflect comments made during the consultation and these draft regulations have now been laid before Parliament. They will be debated in the next Parliament.

Flood Re will protect many of those most at risk by limiting flood insurance premiums according to Council Tax bands (or equivalent in Devolved Administrations). This will help low income households.

To pay for this, a new industry-backed levy would enable insurance companies to cover those at most risk of flooding. All UK household insurers would have to pay into this pool, creating a fund that can be used to pay claims for people in high-risk homes. In the meantime, we’ve published a guide to help people to get affordable insurance.

We’ve also worked with the insurance industry and others to agree a template that can be completed by a surveyor after fitting resistant or resilient property level protection to a home. This flood risk report confirms the flood risk for a property so that insurers can take this into account when quoting for the cost of insurance.



I've found this now. It's called Flood Re. And I wish well to anyone who is not affected either by flooding or by insurance companies imposing premiums " just in case".