. UK household insurers will withdraw insurance from homes on flood plains within two years if the government fails to toughen planning rules and fund new flood defences.
UK household insurers will withdraw insurance from homes on flood plains within two years if the government fails to toughen planning rules and fund new flood defences.
Insurance Times has learned that insurers have unofficially agreed to continue to offer insurance to troubled homes for two years only. The government's environment department (DETR) is due to announce tougher enforcement of planning restrictions and funding for flood plain defences within the next week or so, but insurers will wait to see what is offered and if the words turn into deeds before agreeing a longer guarantee.
The government turned on insurers after the recent floods led to fears some homes would be uninsurable. As part of a counter-offensive, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) called insurers together to present a united front.
Although the two-year moratorium is not official ABI policy, the trade body agreed that was the figure insurers were currently using. “This is not an industry-wide agreement. It is one of the issues being discussed,” the ABI said.
The association said it had held talks with the government and agreed to insure otherwise uninsurable homes as its side of a bargain on where and how homes were built.
It said positive noises from the recent select committee hearings boded well for the awaited Enforcement of Planning Guidelines on Flood Plains, which the DETR confirmed would be published soon.
