Flood damage assessment needs consistency, says report

Flood-damaged property needs to be assessed more consistently across the insurance industry, new research claims.

Lloyds TSB Insurance and the Built Environment Research Unit (BERU) at the University of Wolverhampton have found that differences in service provided to the insured in the event of a flood was often found to cause customer dissatisfaction.

Lloyds TSB Insurance then embarked on research with Dr Proverbs and Dr Holt of the University of Wolverhampton and the results showed there was no industry best practice in these situations.

This new report, which took two years to complete, offers benchmarks and recommendations for best practice in the repair of flood-damaged properties in the UK.

It provides the insurance and construction industry with the first definitive recommendations for the reinstatement of flood-damaged domestic properties, based on the opinions of experts in the field including chartered building surveyors, insurance loss adjusters and other professionals.

Lloyds TSB Insurance managing director Jon Pain said: "For the homeowner, the aftermath of flood damage is often difficult to deal with. Customers just want their damage assessed and rectified as soon as possible and to the highest possible standard.

"Benchmarking will help all involved to deal with remedial action in a consistent way."