More than 7,000 homes at risk of flooding
Richard Cutcher • Published 3 Feb 2012 12:00
Share this
See also:
MORE homes are at risk of flooding in Windsor than in any other town or city in the country.
Figures released by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show more than 30,000 homes are at risk of flooding in the Thames Valley, with 7,125 of those in Windsor. The ABI are calling on the Government to share the risk of covering the most vulnerable properties, to prevent costs from soaring out of control.
Old Windsor has suffered from severe flooding in 2003, 2007 and 2008 and residents live in constant fear of the Thames or Jubilee rivers bursting their banks.
Jim Wanamaker, 67, has lived in Ham Island, Old Windsor, for nearly 20 years and suffered from severe flooding from the Jubilee River in 2003. He said: "We didn't actually claim in 2003 because we were worried our premium would shoot up as a result. We have tried getting quotes from other companies, but by and large most of them don't want to know because they look up our postcode. We haven't got many choices."
An agreement which safeguards insurers from high-risk properties expires next year and the ABI are concerned that a new deal may be struck too late to help people affected by flooding.
Otto Thoresen, director general at the ABI, said: "Insurers want to make sure that every home has access to affordable insurance, should the worst happen, and we're concerned that those people most at risk in areas like those in the Thames Valley will lose out unless we make progress in our discussions with the Government about a long-term sustainable way forward."
Charles Tucker, chairman of the National Flood Forum, said: "People come to us every day for help with flood insurance. Many have already seen premiums rocket to well over £1,000 a year and insurance excess jump to £6,000 or more. We want the Government to take action to rein in this inflation."
A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We want flood insurance to remain widely available and are continuing to work with the insurance industry to ensure that this will be the case after the current agreement between Government and insurers expires in 2013."
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.
