Flood insurance

Damage caused by flooding is typically covered as standard under a home insurance policy. Each policy is different, so check your details if you’re concerned about flood damage. Remember, some flood damage cover will fall under buildings insurance, while other damages will be protected by contents insurance. 

If you’re a homeowner, you might have buildings and contents insurance to protect your home and possessions. However, if you’re renting, it’s usually up to your landlord to take care of damage to buildings, and you’d need to make sure your possessions are covered with contents insurance.

When we say flood damage, we mean flooding from ‘natural sources’, such as excessive rain or a river bursting its banks.
If you have a burst pipe, this is likely to be referred to as an ‘escape of water’ and will come under a different section of your insurance policy.

Groundwater flooding happens when rainwater soaks into the soil and saturates the rocks beneath. After heavy rainfall these rocks form a type of water table, which can rise. This can prevent sewers and drainage systems from functioning properly, so everything overflows.

If you’re concerned about groundwater flooding, contact your insurance provider to find out whether your home insurance policy will cover this type of flooding.

According to a 2019 report by the Environment Agency, an estimated 5.2 million homes in England are at risk of flooding.

To find out if your home is one of them, see the government’s flood risk map.

Here are a few tips to help you with your insurance claim:

• Report any damage to your home insurance provider immediately.
• If you’re renting, contact your landlord or letting agent as soon as any flooding occurs.
• Take photos of any damage.
• Don’t remove anything affected until you’ve made your claim, or you’ve been instructed to by your claims advisor.
• Find out how long it will take for the loss adjuster to survey the property.
• Keep a record of everything related to your claim. There might be a lot of people involved in getting you back on your feet, so keep track of phone numbers and who you need to contact.

If you suffer a flood, your home insurance premiums could be more expensive in the future. You may also have to pay a higher excess. This makes it a good idea to shop around to see if you can get a better level of cover at a cheaper price.

As a tenant, your landlord is usually responsible for getting buildings insurance. So, any damage to the structure of your rented property should be covered under their policy.

However, it’s a good idea to get contents insurance, which can protect your possessions against flood damage.

The amount of time it takes to resolve a flood insurance claim can vary, depending on the extent of the damage.

Minor damage could be resolved in weeks. However, for more significant damage this is likely to take months, possibly even years, because of the process of drying out a property after flooding.

Depending on your policy, you may be offered temporary accommodation until your home is repaired.

It’s important to contact your insurance provider as soon as possible after a flood. Take videos and photos as evidence to back up your claim.

Check your policy to see if you have home emergency cover. If you do, there may be a 24/7 helpline and you might be able to get help quickly if you need emergency repairs. If you need to call an emergency plumber or electrician and pay for the work yourself, make sure you keep all receipts, as you may be claim back the amount on your insurance.

The following tips could help minimise flood damage:

• clean out gutters and keep drains free of debris
• make sure garden furniture is safely secured or locked away
• store electrical items, important documents and valuables upstairs or in high cupboards
• make a list of any emergency numbers you might need
• buy brick covers or sandbags to block doorways and prevent flood water from seeping in.

To protect your business premises from flooding, you’ll need to take out business insurance. There are many types of business insurance, but the right policy can cover your office, shop or other type of premises from damage including flooding or fire. Business insurance could protect you against the cost of repairs. 

If your business premises are rented, then it’s the landlord’s responsibility to insure the building. However, you’re still responsible for insuring any contents. You may also want to cover against any loss of earnings while you may be forced to close. 

Hit the ‘start a quote’ button, select the options that suit, and we’ll show you a range of home insurance quotes.

See how much you could save on protecting your home against the costs of flood damage today.