Fresh flood fears for UK home insurance

UK homeowners have been urged to act quickly to ensure that they have adequate home insurance to cope with floods.

Richard Mason, director of Moneysupermarket.com, warns that HM Treasury has called for cuts in funding against flood defence, potentially creating a risk for Britons not covered by home insurance.

The expert cites figures from the Daily Telegraph, which show that five million people are at risk of flooding, amounting to £200 billion worth of property.

Reducing the amount spent on flood protection could threaten a gentleman's agreement between major home insurance providers and the government to provide cover for homes deemed to be at risk, Mr Mason believes.

My advice to those living in potentially risky areas is to consider taking cover sooner rather than later with one of the biggest insurance brands such as Halifax, Axa or Norwich Union, he remarks.

They are less likely to refuse to cover you in the first place and should your situation deteriorate.

Earlier this year, research carried out by the Association of British Insurers found that around 500,000 UK in the floodplain could lack adequate home insurance.