Floods: Insurance

(asked on 20th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Government response to the independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster, what assessment his Department has made alongside the Association of British Insurers of the scale of flooding exclusions; and what discussions officials in his Department have had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the regulatory framework for flood exclusions.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 27th January 2022

Following the independent review of flood insurance in Doncaster, Defra commissioned industry to gather data from insurers on the number of policies sold with flood exclusions. The data samples from the Association of British Insurers and British Insurance Broker’s Association currently suggests less than 0.5% of policies sold have flood exclusions.

Defra are also conducting further research into the affordability and availability of flood insurance which will also seek to understand the scale of flood exclusions. The study will conclude in summer 2022. Defra officials have met the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss flood exclusions. However, the evidence base for supporting the need for a regulatory change is inconclusive at this stage.

We continue to work closely with the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, the Association of British Insurers and Flood Re to agree a new signposting service and Code of Practice. The Code of Practice will set out the role of insurers and brokers to ensure customers are appropriately informed of their available options, including eligibility for the Flood Re scheme. When launched, participating insurers and brokers will be asked to signpost customers to the new specialist directory of providers if they are unable to provide flood insurance cover. The interventions will be embedded throughout industry by summer 2022.

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