Make the most of Flood Re
Call to action issued to households in flood-prone parts of the country as new data shows increased availability and affordability of home insurance for affected consumers
Flood Re has today released new information which shows that the availability and affordability of home insurance for people in flood-prone parts of the country continues to improve. Flood Re’s half yearly results, also released today, show a continuing growth in the number of people across the country benefitting from Flood Re backed policies.
The new data is being used to urge those people who could benefit from Flood Re-backed home insurance, but do not have policies backed by the Scheme, to see whether they could be better off.
Since early 2016, Flood Re has run four rounds of benchmarking research by Consumer Intelligence, a specialist in customer satisfaction and insight in the financial services sector. This examines the Scheme’s impact on availability and affordability of flood cover, with the latest data showing that:
- Before the introduction of Flood Re, only 9% of householders who had made prior flood claims could get quotes from two or more insurers, with 0% being able to get quotes from five or more.
- By October 2017, availability had improved so that 100% could get quotes from two or more insurers, while 93% of these households could get quotes from five or more.
- Four out of five of householders with a prior flood claim saw price reductions of more than 50%.
Separately, the latest Flood Re results show that 77,000 policies were written from 31 March 2017 to 30 September 2017. The number of policies benefiting from Flood Re increased to 142,000, albeit slightly lower growth than expected.
Andy Bord, Chief Executive of Flood Re, said: “18 months after its creation, it is clear that Flood Re has changed the home insurance market. 142,000 at risk households have accessed more affordable home insurance and we are proud that the Scheme is helping so many people whose lives have been devastated by flooding.
“There has been a continued improvement in the both the availability and affordability of home insurance for those with prior flood claims, as well as those who have not yet been flooded but are in ‘at risk’ areas.
“Over the coming months we will be looking at further ways of raising awareness of the benefits of Flood Re in flood-prone parts of the country and opening up channels to new customers, for example through brokers. My message to those in flood-prone areas is – the benefits are clear so don’t hold back; people should speak to their current insurer and be prepared to shop around to obtain the best policy.”