Association calls for strict state intervention

The ABI has said that a third of the three million new homes the government plans to build by 2020 will be built on flood plains.

Last summer's floods have cost the industry over £3bn. The ABI said that 13 major developments have been approved by the state in the past year, despite Environment Agency advice against it.

Seven of the sites have been deemed high flood risk.

The ABI's assistant director of property, Justin Jacobs said: "The government's ambitious housing plans are in jeopardy unless we reduce the flood risk."

The association repeated its call that the government should intervene in the event a local authority plans to ignore flood risk advice, and publish their decisions.

Jacobs added: "Insurers want to continue to provide flood cover, but poor planning decisions will lead to more homes becoming unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable."