Contents Insurance Price 3x Higher Due to Flood Risk

cgfw201

Hi there,
Bought a nice new house (lucky us) in September, and just getting round to sorting out the contents insurance on it at the moment.

Or trying at least.

Having expected to pay around £100-£150 per year for it based on previous properties, quotes were coming back around £350 per year from the comparison sites, and a lot of major insurers weren't quoting for us.

I since contacted John Lewis and was told this was due to 'Unacceptable Flood Risk' in the area which was more than a bit surprising.

I've looked on the Environment Agency flood risk site and they say there's a 'Low' risk of flooding from Surface Water in the area (1-3% chance per year, not specific to individual properties) which is I assume what deters insurers.

Anyone got any reccos of good insurers to speak to in situations like this. I've no idea how the EA create their maps for flood risk but it seems ludicrous my street is under any kind of risk from any type of flooding.

Thanks

paddyandstumpy

On the EA website there is now atool to check the flood risk at address level. Put in your postcode and select the property number, and it'll pinpoint it on the map and show you the flood risk at that specific property.

There are many types of flooding, not just surface water flooding. Check again that none of the other flood types are higher risk?

It sounds like the market (based on your assessment of the comparison websites) all says the same thing, the only other suggestion would be to try the insurers which aren't on these sites, Direct Line and Aviva.

paddyandstumpy

This is the website to check:

https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/long-term-flood-risk

cgfw201

thanks, yeh I have checked that.

It say's Surface Water is the only one that is a risk, and that it can't pinpoint individual properties in this area that are particularly more/less at risk.

paddyandstumpy

It'll show you (if you select your property from the list) where your property is in relation to where the risk of surface water flooding is.

Whilst I appreciate you say you can't see how there is a risk, the EA has access to far more data than you so is far better placed to make a (professional) judgement as to the risk.

janelle

Interesting. When I called my insurer recently about a similar rise in premiums, I was told when I asked about it that they had voluntarily agreed to a government scheme detailed at floodre co uk to cover flood risk areas not necessarily related to your own area. I was surprised as it amounted to around an extra £60 on the premium. Definitely worth checking with individual insurers about this before renewing.

FutureGirl

Who is your buildings insurance with? Can you not get contents insurance with them?