Industry News from Yes Insurance

A flood risk specialist has today highlighted the unique position Britain is in with regard to house insurance that covers flood damage, stating that it's great news for British consumers but will "cause a headache" for the nation's insurers.

Nick Bollons, an account manager from risk management consultancy Ambiental, commented: "In the UK we are one of the few countries where we have a commercial insurance policy for flood. This makes it quite difficult for the level of understanding you need to have for insuring flood risk."

He said that the industry needed to realise that the impact of global warming could significantly change the odds of a house suffering flood damage and as such, should reconsider offering flood damage as a freebie.

"The current situation with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is that flood cover is part of the insurance policy. That is done on an agreement between the ABI and the UK government on the provision that standards of flood defences are kept to an acceptable level.

"The UK's tradition of offering commercial insurance policies for flood damage is a great bonus for consumers, but will cause a headache for home insurance companies as climate change takes hold," he stressed.

According to figures from moneynews.co.uk, coastal or inland flood risk in the UK affects some two million households with 400,000 of those currently at a high risk of suffering flooding.

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