Co-op calls on home insurance industry to prepare for floods

With climate change bringing increasingly erratic weather patterns, one home insurance provider has called on the industry and the government to collaborate in preventing damage from floods .

The Co-operative wants the state's Environment Agency as well as local authorities to help stop the one in six properties currently at risk of flooding from having to rely on a home insurance payout if the weather turns.

It believes that the cost to the home insurance industry could reach £40 billion by 2035 and is calling for £20 billion to be spent on adequate measures to prevent flood damage to the residences of millions of UK citizens.

James Hillon, head of home insurance at the Co-operative, said: We have a responsibility to our customers to speak up when things are progressing too slowly [and] when houses are being built with pound signs in developer's eyes rather than the homeowner's best interests at heart.

The AA recently urged households which could be caught in increasing numbers of floods in the next few decades to remember the importance home insurance plays in providing financial peace of mind.