Increasing Flood Risk May Make 1,000,000 UK Homes Uninsurable - Telegraph

[hatrack]

Homeowners living near rivers and the coast face losing up to 40 per cent of the value of their homes as flood risk makes them uninsurable. More than a million homes and 300,000 businesses are at risk, including those in parts of London, Southend, Brighton, Reading, Birmingham, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Hull, Middlesbrough, Blackpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh, the Environment Agency says.

The insurance industry points to evidence that climate change and rising sea levels will increase the likelihood of floods. It has an agreement with the Government – which runs out in 2013 – committing it to provide cover for customers, as long as flood risk is properly managed. Insurers are expressing concern about cuts to investment in flood defences implied in the coalition's Comprehensive Spending Review, and the affect of funding cuts on extending the agreement – the UK is currently one of the few countries to provide flood coverage automatically through property insurance.

Nick Starling, of the Association of British Insurers, said: "We must ensure that our spending on flood defences and flood management is targeted to those areas where it is needed the most, and that the Government implements a long-term flood management strategy."

Flooding is expensive for insurers, with claims typically between £20,000 and £40,000. In the past decade insurers have paid out £4.5bn to customers whose homes or businesses have flooded, three times the £1.5bn paid in the previous decade. Under the spending review, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs took a 29 per cent budget cut, including £110m from planned spending on new flood defences. Defra insists flood risk management is a "priority".

EDIT

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/rise-in-flood-risk-could-make-one-million-homes-uninsurable-2179746.html

[jwirr]

1. Australia is probably going to face the same problem.