Home insurance warning over flooding

Britons have been warned that home insurance providers may opt to withdraw flood cover as standard if the government does not increase flood defence funding.

Justin Butler, the managing director of risk management consultancy Ambientel, said that the UK is in an unusual position whereby its insurers offer home insurance as standard for flooding, unlike other European nations.

The comments come in the wake of incidents of flooding in many areas of the UK, which have prompted a large number of home insurance claims.

With increasing frequency and intensity of rainfall in certain locations, the probability of repeat events happening seems to be increasing, remarked Mr Butler.

He also said that the increasing likelihood of flooding means that the government should act to prevent further incidents as devastating as the ones recently observed.

Following the recent flooding incidents, home insurance companies such as Halifax and NFU Mutual issued advice to their customers on how to cope.

One piece of advice provided was to contact their home insurance provider, as it will have expertise and experience in dealing with situations of this nature.