Saturday 9 October 2010

Millions of homes could become uninsurable if Government cuts flood defence spending

One in six properties in England and Wales is currently judged to be at risk of flooding. An agreement between the Government and insurance firms currently allows homes and businesses in flood risk areas to purchase cover so long as the Government is doing its part to mitigate the risks.

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However, the agreement runs out in 2013 and council leaders are concerned that the insurance industry may refuse to offer affordable cover if it does not have confidence that sufficient resources are being invested in flood defences after that date. Householders, businesses and local and central government would be left to pick up the bill for repairing the damage caused by any future floods. According to the Environment Agency, spending on flood risk management will need to double to £1 billion a year by 2035 just to maintain the number of properties currently protected from flooding.

Gary Porter, Chairman of the LGA's Environment Board, said: “The Government has made it clear there are going to be deep cuts in public spending. But there is a real danger that if sufficient resources are not put into managing the risk of flooding millions of households could find themselves in the awful position of being unable to insure their property against the risk of floods. We all remember the destruction that the 2007 floods caused. It is absolutely imperative that the Government does all it can to reduce the risk of it happening again and that if it does, ordinary people are not left to fend for themselves.”

There are 5.5 million properties at risk of flooding in England and Wales. This breaks down as 2.6 million from river or sea flooding, 3.9 million from surface water flooding and 1.1 million from both. The cost of clearing up after the 2007 floods was £3billion.