Flood Re urges government to invest £1bn annually in flood defences

Flood Re has called on the government to allocate a minimum of £1bn annually to address evolving climate risks and protect UK homes and businesses from flooding.

Flood Re, a collaboration between the UK government and the insurance sector, made the request as the government evaluates its long-term spending strategy.

Research highlighted by the initiative showed that showed flood defences save £1.15bn in potential flood-related damage to UK homes each year.

The data also revealed that annual losses to households would be 2.8 times higher if not for existing levels of flood protection.

Dermot Kehoe, director of communications and transition at Flood Re, said: “The UK needs long-term flood defence investment of at least £1bn a year to ensure we protect our homes and businesses from the devastation flooding brings.

“We must continue to mitigate the damage caused by flooding to ensure the insurance market has the ability to provide affordable cover to those at risk.”

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This comes after recent storms, including Babet, Ciaran and Debi, resulted in £570m in insurance payouts.

Climate change is expected to further heighten flood risks, with projections indicating a 27% increase in the number of properties vulnerable to river and coastal flooding by 2069, rising from 2.4 million to 3.1 million.

Dr Oliver Wing, chief scientific officer at Fathom, said: “The value of flood defences to UK households is unequivocal, saving them more than £1bn combined each year on average and up to £13bn during very severe floods.

“As our nation’s infrastructure ages, rebuild costs balloon and climate change fuels ever more intense flood events, funding the maintenance and expansion of the UK’s flood protection systems has never been more critical.”