Responding to the Government announcement of a review of flood insurance Huw Evans, Director General, Association of British Insurers, said:
"Insurers have responded promptly and effectively to these latest floods, so any review should focus on how to improve under-insurance where the Government itself has an important role to build awareness. Insurers expect to pay out over £100m in claims from the South Yorkshire floods and have played a vital role in helping people and businesses manage the impact of the devastating flooding.
"The UK’s world-first Flood Re scheme fulfils an important role in ensuring affordable ongoing insurance for households in high-flood risk areas, while avoiding incentivising unwise construction. So far 250,000 homeowners have benefitted from the scheme, who would otherwise face difficulties in getting flood cover. UK insurers, who set up Flood Re, and pay £180m per year to support it, will resist any attempts to widen the scheme to cover recent floodplain development."