Finding insurance for a property that has suffered from flooding in the past can be tricky.

Over 5 million homes in the UK are at risk of flooding from a river or the sea according to the Environment Agency. If you are unfortunate to have been flooded in the past or you live in a flood risk area, you are no doubt aware of how difficult it can be to obtain appropriate insurance cover; in fact most insurers have no interest in offering cover for your home. However, there are providers that offer the bespoke approach required to offer insurance on a previously flooded home.

They will need to know more about your property, such as:-

What was the source of the flooding?

This is normally a river or the sea, the small brook or stream nearby that burst its banks after heavy rain, or backing up drains. How much higher than the water are you normally?

What remedial work you have done to protect your property?

You may have installed sumps and pumps, tanked the walls of the property or installed door guards. The insurance provider will be interested in any preventative measures that you have taken to reduce damage should the flooding reoccur.

What remedial work has been completed to prevent flooding in the future?

The Environment Agency may have dredged and cleared the nearby water course, engineered flood channels or installed a flooding barrier.

If you are considering buying a property which has flooded, you should approach the existing insurer first when searching for you own insurance cover. You should ensure appropriate cover can be secured early in the purchasing process. It can sometime take longer than expected to obtain cover and this will likely hold up any mortgage application.

It is also worth pointing out that any future property value will be affected by previous flooding regardless of how long ago the damage occurred, but this can be offset once specific flood defences have been proven to work.

First-insurance.co.uk
Tracking down low cost Flooded Property Insurance