Flood damage claims
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COMPARE HOME INSURANCE QUOTES FOR PROPERTIES IN FLOOD RISK AREAS
If you live in a high flood risk area or your property’s been affected by flooding in the past, then it’s sensible to have insurance in place that covers your home against this type of risk.
Flood insurance isn’t separate to buildings and contents insurance. It’s included as part of any standard home insurance policy and protects you from damage and loss caused by flood water entering your home.
If you make a successful claim for flood damage on your home insurance, it’ll pay out for repairs to your home and to replace destroyed possessions covered by your policy.
Flood cover on your home insurance could help if flood water enters your home in the following scenarios:
It used to be difficult to get reasonably priced home insurance cover if you lived in a high-risk flood area and if your home had previously been hit by a flood.
To combat this, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) launched the Flood Re scheme in 2016 to help providers offer more affordable home insurance policies.
Under the scheme, your insurer pays out if you make a valid claim for flood damage, but it can then claim back a proportion of the money from the Flood Re fund. This reduces the insurer’s financial risk, so it can offer you cheaper cover.
Flood insurance will provide different cover on your buildings insurance policy and your contents insurance policy. You should check the terms and conditions carefully to ensure they provide a good level of cover.
As part of your home buildings insurance policy, flood cover can pay for cleaning up and repairing your property including:
Flood cover on a contents insurance policy will include repairs to or replacement of your household items damaged by water. This includes things like:
You’ll need to check your policy for exclusions, but it could refuse to cover:
The damage to a property caused by flood water can be extensive and run into tens of thousands of pounds to clean up and fix. Floods can also ruin your furniture and personal possessions which can cost a lot of money to replace. So, if you live in a high-risk flood area then it’s a wise move to make sure your home insurance covers you adequately.
Even if your home is not in an area prone to flooding, it’s best to be covered for all eventualities, especially as flooding due to extreme weather events may become more common in the UK.
The cost of home insurance with flood cover varies, depending on how close you live to water.
The average annual cost of home insurance for those within 150 metres of water is £208.
Homes over 400 metres away pay £157 on average.*
If your home’s flooded before it may cost you more to insure it. You might be able to get cheaper quotes if measures are taken to reduce the possibility of water entering your home though.
*The average price paid for home insurance annually through GoCompare in April 2023, depending on the property's distance from water. For properties within 150 metres of water, it was £208. For properties up to 400 metres away it was £180. For properties more than 400 metres away from water it was £157.
Flood Re is a not-for-profit scheme that helps make insurance more affordable for homes with a high flood risk. Every insurer in the UK pays into the Flood Re scheme. This money goes into a fund which helps to cover claims for flooding in home insurance policies. It means your insurance premiums won’t be overly expensive just because you live in a flood risk area, as the risk is covered by Flood Re.
Your home's likely to be eligible if:
Go to the Flood re eligibility calculator to find out if your home qualifies - but remember it's up to the individual insurers offering the scheme to decide if they can offer you a policy or not.
If you’re struggling to find cover, you could get help from a specialist insurance broker via the British Insurance Broker’s Association (BIBA).
The charity National Flood Forum can also offer advice and guidance on how to go about getting insurance if you live in a high flood risk area.
Find out more with our Guide to Flood Re.
Comparing quotes for home insurance with flood cover is easy. Here are some of the specific details you may need:
Whether you need buildings insurance, contents insurance or both
The type of property and the materials it's made from
Within 150 metres, 150 to 400 metres, or over 400 metres
Whether your home or outbuildings have ever been flooded by an external source before
How much you'd like to insure your building and your contents for
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*The average price paid for home insurance annually through GoCompare in April 2023, depending on the property's distance from water. For properties within 150 metres of water, it was £208. For properties up to 400 metres away it was £180. For properties more than 400 metres away from water it was £157.
Page last reviewed: 09 January 2023
Page reviewed by: Ceri McMillan