Prepare for Floods with Home Insurance

There have been some stark warnings in recent weeks for UK homeowners after several areas were given official flood warnings from the Environment Agency. Though the flood warnings are not on the same scale as the devastating floods of 2007 which led to almost £3billion being paid out in home insurance claims, they are a timely reminder for property owners to ensure they have suitable coverage in place.

The areas highlighted in the flood warnings included Langbridge, Alverstone, and the Lower River Axe from Axminster to Axmouth. However, just because your area was not placed under a flood warning does not mean that your property is not at risk. The easiest way to check whether or not your home could be at threat from flooding is to visit the flood maps at the Environmental Agency website and enter your postcode.

If you do live in a flood risk area then chances are you’re paying more for your home insurance as a result. Most insurers review the flood maps when determining their quotes and flood risk is one of the crucial determinants of how high your premiums will be.

As a consequence it’s vital to ensure you’re getting value for money from your home insurance policy – and that should a claim be necessary you will be awarded a suitable payment.

What to look out for on a home insurance policy

To see if your existing home insurance policy offers sufficient cover to protect you in the event of a flood, pay attention to fixtures such as fireplaces and electric lights. You may expect them to be covered under the buildings insurance aspect of the policy, but in fact they are generally classified as contents.

Consequently you should examine the terms and conditions of your contents insurance. Ensure it is up to date with any new items brought into the home over Christmas covered, and that the policy limit is large enough to cover these new possessions. If you do have any portable items try to get in the habit of storing them upstairs where they are less at risk from flood damage anyway.

The problem homeowners who have already made a claim on their home insurance for flood damage face, is that excesses could now be in the region of £30,000 as insurers do not want to risk making expensive payouts again. Those who have claimed face significant hikes in their premium making it more important than ever to shop around.

There is no guarantee of finding a cheap home insurance policy if you live in a flood risk area. However, you will better your chances significantly if you take a thorough overview of the market by comparing quotes online using a comparison website. Comparison websites can compare dozens of quotes from different providers so you can get a clear idea about whether or not your renewal quote is competitive.

How flood protection could earn cheap home insurance

Those in flood risk areas should do all they can to minimise the risk of flood damage and keep their insurer informed about their actions – doing so could potentially drive down their premiums.

For example, you could sign up for Flood Warnings Direct. This is a free service that provides flood warnings directly to homeowners via email, text and phone calls. Being prepared for a flood could give you the opportunity to seriously limit the damage that occurs.

In addition, look into installing temporary flood protection equipment in your home. Among the ideas you could use are to put plastic bags over airbricks which can stop water seeping into the home. Stock up on sandbags, which may be available from a local council during a flood – it’s worth keeping some at your home however, just in case. Also look into buying flood boards which fix to the frames around windows and doors. Once the risk of flood has passed these should be dried and stored away to help your home dry out.

There are other steps to take but they are likely to prove more expensive. For example, you could position any main parts of a heating system such as a boiler upstairs; and replace wooden window and door frames with synthetic versions. Consider raising the height of electrical sockets to at least 1.5m above floor level.

Remember whatever actions you take inform your home insurance provider and you may earn a discount.