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It is becoming increasingly difficult to get home insurance if you live on or near a floodplain, new research reveals. We review the best home insurance policies for you if you live on a floodplain.
“It really pays to shop around for buildings and contents insurance - particularly if you live in a flood-risk area,” says Martyn Hocking, Editor of Which? whose research revealed recently that thousands of home owners are caught in a Catch 22 when it comes home insurance.
Flood Damage InsuranceBefore an insurer agrees to protect a property, it will require the owner to reveal, to the best of their knowledge, whether they live in a flood risk area. If there has been a problem with flooding in their area, the insurer may not offer cover. But if the owner doesn't pass on any information, any claim they make on their insurance could be dismissed.
In order to escape this trap, it makes sense to only approach insurers that consider a home's specific risk rather than basing quotes on the area. Aviva and Stroud & Swindon Building Society pinpoint an individual property's flood risk. Some other insurers, including Northern Rock and LV=, assess flood-risk at postcode level, with reference to claims history and the Environment Agency map.
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks research suggests around 1 in 4 households in the UK have no home contents insurance and approximately 1 in 3 have no buildings cover resulting in an annual bill of £200million.
Compare Home Insurance with Moneyexpert.com.
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