Always Remember Insurance When Buying a Home in a Flood Risk Area
Seeing flood warnings and people recovering from floods on the news is becoming a regularoccurrence. The latest homes to get hit by floods were in Cumbria. With climate change on everyone’s mind at the moment, the number of houses at risk of being flooded is on the rise.
Currently the Environment Agency estimates that one in six homes in the UK are at risk of flooding. With this number estimated to rise in the next couple of years, we could be seeing even more flood reports on the news.
One big problem that many home owners are facing that are living in areas at risk of flooding is buying home insurance, particularly if it’s holiday home insurance. Because a common flood claim can cost insurers around £40,000, you should always consider insurance costs when buying a home. Fortunately, there are a number of websites that inform you of all the areas that are at risk of flooding in the UK.
If you have a home or are looking to buy a home in England or Wales, you can visit the Environment Agency’s website for detailed flood maps. If you are a home owner in Scotland, you can visit the Scottish Environment Protection Agency website where you’ll find flood maps.
If you do own a home or are planning to buy a home in a flood risk area, getting your insurance won’t be easy. You’ll normally find that as soon as your home has been flooded, your insurer will push up premiums or excesses. You may even find that you are refused a policy renew due to your house being in an area at risk of flooding.
With every flood claim costing anywhere between £20,000 and £40,000, you should be prepared for a policy excess of up to £30,000. This is the reason why you should add any expensive insurance costs onto house prices when you are looking to buy a home. Getting insurance for second homes can result in even more problems. Due to you leaving the property empty for most of the year, you have to watch for exclusions and high excesses.
Isupposeyou wouldn’t have that problem if you were after home insurance Spain.
