Home and dry: Protecting against flood damage
Wednesday, 15 December 2010 10:33 AM
If you live in an area considered at high risk of flooding, obtaining adequate home insurance cover can be a nightmare - but, as Anthony Hill explains, with a few protection measures in place, it really needn't be.
Research by online insurance firm homeprotect recently found that 72 per cent of homeowners who have been flooded in the past see no reason why they should take measures to defend their property against a repeat occurrence.
If you happen to be one of those people, it might be worth reconsidering your approach, because those who do take steps to protect their flood-prone home can potentially get more favourable insurance terms. In fact, for some households it might be the only way to get cover at all.
"It was only a few weeks ago when parts of Cornwall were devastated by flooding, with hundreds of businesses and homes destroyed, yet many more areas of the UK could face significant flooding," warned David Walker, managing director of homeprotect, recently.
"With the soil already saturated from the autumn and the melt-water from the recent heavy snowfall, surface and groundwater flooding will again become a very real threat," he explained.
However, according to Walker, any property owner who reduces the chance of their at-risk property actually being flooded has every right to ask for a more favourable insurance deal.
Protecting your home against flooding
Walker recommends implementing the following simple defensive measures to help prevent flood damage in your home:
Plastic airbrick covers: Relatively cheap and widely available, these simple devices could provide an extra foot of clearance in the event of a flood, sometimes making the difference between actually being flooded or not.
Non-return valves: Because most flooding involves unpleasant waste being forced up through your toilet and back into the property, these low-cost bits of kit, which are easily fitted, can help prevent one of the worst aspects of a flood.
Flood boards: Fitted between slots either side of a door, these are often effective in sealing off the main entry point for flood water to the home.
New flooring: Even measures as simple as replacing carpets with tiled or vinyl floor coverings could be enough to help lower your insurance premium.
Electricals: Raising electrical sockets so that they are 1.5m above ground level, to avert a short circuit in the event of flooding, could also help you achieve more favourable terms when it comes to obtaining cover.
When all else fails, there are alternatives available. At what homeprotect describes as the "extreme end of the scale", property owners could have an anti-flood barrier built at the property boundary.
