As winter is upon us, a successful outcome for a client serves as a timely reminder about how we can help householders whose homes are prone to flooding.
Flood Re is a scheme which was introduced to make affordable cover widely available to householders in the UK who live in areas at risk of flooding. Here at Eastwood Private Clients, we are Flood Re specialists with several insurers on our panel who are part of the scheme.
Through this scheme, we helped a homeowner with an insurance issue for their Norfolk seaside town property. The property, a detached three-storey house, was hit by a North Sea tidal surge and as a result, the ground floor was submerged for several hours and left a trail of destruction.
The insurer agreed to pay for the replacement of damaged items and fittings on a like-for-like basis but refused to cover the costs to make the house more resilient and flood-resistant in the future. The house needed stronger external doors and foundations, better waterproofing of the walls and a submersible pump to sweep out water, sand and debris.
When the homeowner’s policy next came up for renewal, the insurer removed all flood cover and they were put in touch with us. Shortly after our appointment, we negotiated with the insurer to have all flood cover reinstated but this was initially subject to a £100,000 excess and a 25 per cent co-insurance clause. Although this was onerous, it was better than having no cover at all.
Once the repair works were completed, we met with the homeowner along with a surveyor and an underwriter from the insurer, who subsequently offered to reduce the excess to £75,000 and to withdraw the co-insurance clause.
This, however, was still unacceptable and, following further discussions, the best offer was a £50,000 excess. We then turned to an insurer who had started ceding such risks to Flood Re and as a result, we managed to secure the premium for 10% cheaper than previously quoted and secured a standard £500 flood excess - you can image how delighted our client was!
Our message is simple – please avoid initially accepting what you are being offered in terms of premiums and excess without shopping around. If you are paying inflated premiums or have an extortionate excess on your policy because your property is in an area at risk of flooding, please contact us or visit Flood Re's website to find out more about their scheme.
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