High risk of surface flood. Do I need to make the insurer specifically aware?

Avalanche123

Hi, we are FTB and I am looking at home insurance. The house is at high risk of surface water flooding, very low risk of flooding from rivers. Never been flooded before.

All the insurers are asking on the comparison sites or on their own sites is whether the house was flooded or if it is in a flood warning area. Does this mean that I dont need to make them aware of the high risk of surface flood?

I wouldn't want the insurance to be invalidated.

Thank you

Aretnap

As a consumer, when buying insurance you only have to answer the questions that the insurer actually asks about. You don't have to volunteer information which they don't specifically ask you about. 

From a brief Google it looks like Flood Warning Area is a term with a well defined meaning, so you would only have to tell them if the house is in one if those areas (or it has flooded in the past). 

http://apps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/37835.aspx

jonesMUFCforever

All insurance policies will ask if you have been flooded in xy years.
I don't know how you are supposed to reply if you are new to the area but I would think that the insurance companies use post codes to determine which areas might be prone to flooding and adjust premiums accordingly.

TELLIT01

If I was considering buying a house I would want to know if it had flooded in the past, and would ask my solicitor to find out.  Insurance companies do have access to systems which indicate the flood risk so really shouldn't have to ask the question anyway.

greyteam1959

I wonder why you are buying a property with a 'high risk of surface flooding' ??
Not something I would be doing.

Avalanche123

greyteam1959 said:

I wonder why you are buying a property with a 'high risk of surface flooding' ??
Not something I would be doing.

Approximately 25% of the properties in my area are high risk of surface flooding. The property was never flooded. I know that for sure.

Plus these risks are aparently very unreliable.