Expect Higher Insurance Excesses After a Flood

Seeing reports of floods on the news has started to become a regular occurrence. The latest homes to get hit by floods were in Cumbria. With climate change on everyone’s mind at the moment, the number of houses at risk of being flooded is on the rise.

The Environment Agency is currently predicting that one in six homes are at risk of flooding. With this number set to rise within the next 12 months, we should be seeing even more flood warnings.

One of the biggest problems people in areas at risk of flooding are facing is having to buy home insurance, especially if it’s insurance for holiday homes. Due to a common flood claim costing around £40,000 to the insurer, you should always consider any expensive insurance when buying new property. Thankfully, there are quite a few websites where you can find information about the areas that are at risk of flooding.

If you are currently living, or are looking to buy a property in England or Wales, you can visit the Environment Agency’s website where they list flood maps of the UK. If you are a home owner in Scotland, you can visit the Scottish Environment Protection Agency website where you’ll find flood maps.

If you own or are going to buy a home in an area at risk of flooding, getting insurance won’t be simple. You’ll normally find that as soon as your home has been flooded, your insurer will push up premiums or excesses. You could even be refused a renew if your house had been recently flooded.

With every flood claim costing anywhere between £20,000 and £40,000, you should be prepared for a policy excess of up to £30,000. This is why when you are looking to buy a property, you should factor in insurance costs to the price of the home. Getting second homes insurance can cause even more problems. Due to you leaving the property empty for most of the year, you have to watch for exclusions and high excesses.

I guess you wouldn’t have any of this hassle if you were after Spanish house insurance.