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Expect Higher Insurance Excesses After a Flood

News reports of flood warnings and current floods are started to becoming a regular thing. 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.

Currently the Environment Agency estimates that 1 in 6 houses are at risk of flooding. With this number estimated to rise in the next couple of years, we could be seeing even more flood reports on the news.

One of the biggest problems people living in areas at risk of flooding face is having to get home insurance, especially if it’s holiday home insurance. Due to insurers knowing a common flood claim will cost up to £40,000, you should factor in insurance price into the cost of buying a home. Fortunately, there are a number of websites that inform you of all the areas that are at risk of flooding in the UK.

If you live or are looking to live in England or Wales, you can visit the Environment Agency’s website where you can find flood maps. 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 do own a home or are planning to buy a home in a flood risk area, getting your insurance won’t be easy. You’ll often find that as soon as your house has been flooded, your insurer will push up the premiums. You could find that you are even refused a policy renew if your house was 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’re looking at property, you should consider any high insurance expenses and add them to the house price. Getting second home insurance can end up being even worse. Because you will tend to not live in the house for most of the year, you have to watch out for exclusions and possible high excesses.

Isupposeyou wouldn’t have that problem if you were after home insurance in Spain.