Are You Covered For The Future Risks of Flooding?

Flooding has always been a problem for houses in floodplains, low areas and near rivers. However, flooding is becoming a more common issue in places that were usually low-risk or no-risk. It’s said that now ‘no city, town or village is immune’ from the risk of flooding.

Due to more changeable weather, heavy bursts of rain have increased in number, and also in strength too. So not only are they affecting new areas, but they’re more damaging in problem areas too. With this increase, it might be time to explore your existing protection against flooding, to work out whether your insurance is covering you adequately. So what do you need to keep an eye on when it comes to financial flood protection?

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Home Insurance

One thing that gets greatly affected by flooding is the building itself. Water damage is a big issue, as you’ll have to rip up carpets, replace flooring, repair walls and dry everything out. Flooding can bring in water, mud and silt; which requires short-term cleaning, but long-term damage can include timbers warping, structural degradation and mould/damp.

A home insurance policy should cover flooding as standard, but it’s always worth checking to see whether this is the case for your policy, and that you’re protected for the right amount, as you wouldn’t want to be making a claim when you’re underinsured.

Protecting Your Contents

As well as protecting the building from flooding damage, you should also look at your contents as well. This is pertinent no matter whether you’re looking to protect your belongings at home or items in your business.

For your home, you should check to see whether your contents policy includes flooding and/or water damage. And for your business, as well as contents insurance you might also want to explore stock insurance, where you can have specific cover for the stock you have in your shop.

Risk Management

Whilst you can’t eliminate the risk of flooding, you are able to mitigate the risk and keep damage costs down. One of the easiest things you can do is to have a personal flood plan.

If you take a look at the government’s website, you can read a three-point plan for what to do in a flood, and you can also download and fill out a personal flood plan from the Environment Agency.

The flood plan prompts you to add information for contacting suppliers, service cut-off locations and contact details for those close to you who can help. There is also a checklist for what you can do now, as well as a checklist for you to follow when a flood is expected in your area.

Dedicated Flood Insurance

Depending on your home and contents insurance policy, you might not be protected for the risk of flooding. This could be due to a number of different reasons: either you’re in a problem area and the premiums are too high to include it in a standard home insurance policy, or you live in an area that doesn’t get hit, so it wasn’t relevant to include as part of your cover.

In either case, you might want to look at having flood insurance included as part of your insurance. In most cases, it will be in a home and contents policy, but sometimes it could be excluded to make a home insurance policy affordable in a flood-risk area. However, you might be able to mitigate costs by finding an insurer that follows the Flood Re scheme.

Are You Covered For The Future Risks of Flooding?

Insurance Made Personal

Home Insurance

Protecting Your Contents

Risk Management

Dedicated Flood Insurance

Insurance Made Personal

Products

Industries

Information

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