Nelson Insurance

According to the Association of British Insurers many new homes could end up being uninsurable when it comes to cover against flooding due to slack planning controls over where the developments are based. Officials from the ABI have stated that planning permission has been granted to many major new developments despite warning from environmental officials with regards to the increased risk of flooding.

An official from the ABI said: ‘The Government’s ambitious housing plans are in jeopardy unless we reduce the flood risk. In the last year, 13 major developments have been given the go-ahead despite Environment Agency advice on the flood risk. Where a local authority plans to ignore flood risk advice, the Government should step in and review the proposals and be compelled to publish their decision.’

He also went on to say: ‘Insurers want to continue to provide flood cover, but poor planning decisions will lead to more homes becoming unsaleable, uninsurable and uninhabitable.’ The ABI claims that around thirteen new developments have been given the go ahead in the past year, over half of which are at particularly high risk of flooding. The government is planning to build three million new homes over the next four years, and around a third of these will be built on flood plains states the ABI.

The Environment Agency has to be consulted over these developments, but ABI officials state that the warnings of officials from the Environment Agency are going unheeded, and this could lead to severe problems when it comes to getting flood insurance cover for the homes, eventually making them impossible to sell and uninhabitable.

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