Major insurer warns 7,116 new homes are set to be built on flood-prone land – is YOUR local area on the list?

More than 7,000 homes have been given planning permission to be built in the most flood-prone areas of the country, insurer Allianz warns.

Allianz said 7,116 new homes have full or conditional planning permission on previously undeveloped floodplains in the 12 local authorities with the highest proportion of homes at flood risk.

An Allianz report written by think tank Localis said that 7 per cent of England’s flood defences are in a poor state, with 1 per cent classed as very poor. 

A quarter of flood defences are privately owned and almost twice as likely to be in poor condition than those maintained by the Environment Agency.

In England, there are 12 local authorities where more than one in 10 properties face a more than 1 per cent risk of flooding – the benchmark for being deemed high risk.

The authorities surveyed are: South Holland, Boston, Fenland, Runnymede, King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, City of Kingston upon Hull, East Lindsey, North Lincolnshire, Spelthorne, Doncaster, Exeter, Windsor and Maidenhead.

Caroline Johnson, of Allianz UK, said: ‘It is concerning to see so many homes being given planning permission in these areas. 

‘Floods are traumatic events for householders, who can see their homes ruined and a lifetime’s worth of possessions destroyed.

‘The Government has announced ambitious plans to build 1.5million homes over the course of this Parliament, and while we know more new homes are necessary, it is important that they are resilient to floods and bad weather.’

Figures from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee reveal there are 5.7 million properties in England at risk of flooding. 

With at least 22 named storms hitting the UK since the previous report was published in 2021, figures from the Association of British Insurers show the value of weather-related claims reached £573million in 2023.

Flooding and home insurance 

Most properties are protected by Flood Re – a joint initiative between Government and insurers that makes flood cover more widely available and affordable as part of home insurance – but this does not include properties built since 2009.

That means that every new home built in the past 15 years may struggle to find affordable home insurance that covers flooding.

Insurance claims caused by flooding and bad weather can be hugely expensive.

Allianz paid UK flood claims totalling more than £20million in 2023 with the average cost of a claim costing £33,000. 

The largest single flood damage claim was nearly £450,000, which occurred during Storm Babet in October 2023.

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