The country has seen a lot of warmer weather lately, it is Summer after all, but the long periods of dry weather followed by a period of rainfall can cause flooding and when it comes to the significant increase in rainfall during the winter months flooding can be even more prevalent causing significant property damage.
Risk of flooding
If you’re in an area more at risk of flooding you might doubt your ability to secure buildings insurance for your home, but that isn’t strictly true.
Firstly, you may want to check to see if you’re in an area more at risk of flooding, or if you’re looking to move, you might want to check to see if your future home is more at risk of flooding.
The Environment Agency provides live maps which give information about long-term flood risk to properties.
Its online postcode search will enable you to find out if the area you are in is in danger of being flooded. You can also sign up for free flood alerts on the agency’s website, with warnings available by text, phone or email.
Once you’ve determined whether your property is at risk, it begs the question- what do I do about insuring my home against the damage?
Historically, it was difficult to find reasonably priced cover if your home had previously been hit by a flood.
The Association of British Insurers launched the Flood Re scheme in 2016 to combat this. Flood Re help insurance providers offer more affordable flood risk insurance policies.
Under the scheme, your insurer pays out if you make a valid claim for flood damage, but it can then claim back a proportion of the money from the Flood Re fund. This reduces the insurer’s financial risk, so it can offer you cheaper cover.
What does flood insurance cover?
Flood cover under buildings insurance can pay for:
- Removal of debris inside the home
- Drying out a property
- Repairs and restoration to structure, fixtures and fittings such as the building foundations, electrics and plumbing
- Fees for services like legal expenses, property surveyors and architect fees
Flood cover on a contents insurance policy will include repairs or restoration for your household items. This included things like:
- Furniture, carpets, lamps and sofas
- TVs, computers and other electricals
- Fridge freezers, washing machines and other kitchen appliances
- DVDs, books, and toys
- Any items worth more than your policy’s single article limit will need to be listed separately on your policy.
- If you want cover for valuable items like jewellery, gadgets, bikes or musical equipment you’ll need to tell your insurer and probably pay an additional premium.
Exclusions:
Home insurance policies don’t all offer the same level of cover and some types of cover will only be available as an optional extras. For instance, you might not be covered as standard for:
- Flooding that occurs due to a burst pipe or escape of water
- Alternative accommodation if your home becomes inhabitable
- Damaged fences, hedges or gates
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