The Shocking Truth About Flood Alerts In The Uk
John Paige
According to a recent survey, about 6.5 million homes in the UK are at risk from flooding, and 1.5 million of these homes are in high risk areas. This survey should make your bones shiver because your house could be one of the 6.5 million homes! So far, the government has completed only flood defenses and protection for about 80,000 homes.
With this fact, you might be in a lot of trouble if you can not obtain flood coverage for your home. You must know by now that if you live in a high flood risk area, insurance providers are not welcoming you with open arms to obtain their flood coverage. If global warming continues, this problem is only going to get bigger, and by 2030, the number of homes at risk is epected to be as high as three and a half million. This number is huge, and is something that everyone in the United Kingdom should pay attention to and prepare for.
Due to recent severe flooding in the United Kingdom, predominantly in high risk areas, many insurers have started thinking about removing flood coverage from their policies and available coverages. These companies have faced millions of pounds worth of claims in recent years, and if the government does not step in and aid in flood defences, then this coverage will certainly be dropped in most areas.
It is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to develop and maintain these flood defenses in the UK. The immediate result of the severe floods is that people with homes located in high risk areas can only expect their flood insurance premiums soaring up.
This news is devastating for people in high risk areas, as their premiums are rising in amounts up to four hundred percent in the worst of these areas. Unfortunately you should not be surprised if your insurance provider declines to renew your policy or even sell policies in areas prone to frequent or severe flooding.
Recent internet reports show that if DEFRA does not take action swiftly, the current annual flood damage rate of 950 million pounds a year could quickly rise to as high as 3.2 billion pounds a year. The average claim for flood damage to a household in the UK is 30,000 pounds, staggeringly higher than the average claim for damage caused by fire.
To help attempt to control this, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is pressuring DEFRA to move faster in installing, upgrading, and maintaining flood defenses around the United Kingdom, with special attention paid to the high risk zones.
If you think your home or the home you are planning to move on to is one of the 6.5 million homes facing the risk of flooding, or is in a high risk area, you can find out by checking the maps and visiting DEFRA's website
www.environment-agency.gov.uk. This is not something you can play deaf and blind to. Your whole future could be at stake so do not delay.
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