Flood risk concerns Association of British Insurers

Failure to take action to protect against the threat of flooding could leave over 500,000 homes in the UK uninsurable, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says.

According to the representative body, its members could soon stop offering flood protection as standard on all home insurance policies.

In order to avert this, the government would need to fund the protection of homes designated by the Environment Agency as being at a high risk of flooding.

Failure to do so would result in 517,000 homes being classed as "uninsurable, unsaleable and uninhabitable".

This issue is not just worrying the ABI - homeowners themselves are concerned too.

Research conducted by the ABI shows three-quarters of people think the government should abandon its commitment to building three million new homes by 2020 if it means more properties will be at a heightened risk of flooding.

"These findings reinforce our call for a long-term flood management strategy," commented Nick Starling, the ABI's director of general insurance and health.

"In particular, we must tackle the problem of surface water drainage. Planning for the future is essential if we are to minimise a repeat of last year's terrible floods, and to ensure that flood insurance protection remains widely available."

19/06/2008 13:56:32