Protect your home from flood risk
Summer may have long since given way to this season’s chill but the record levels of rainfall seen earlier in the year show no signs of letting up, with parts of Northern Ireland, England and Wales continuing to see flooding. All of which focuses attention on the renewal of an agreement betweenb insurers and the government surrounding the availability of insurance cover for homes situated in flood prone areas.
With a real prospect that the agreement will end, resulting in reduced cover for risks in the worst affected areas, homeowners in flood zones need to take steps to manage their insurance costs and protect their homes.
A quick check on the Environment Agency’s flood map (www.environment-agency.gov.uk) will show whether your home is in a flood area. If it is, you might find that you have to pay higher insurance premiums, even if you believe your home is not at a high risk of flood because it’s situated on top of a hill for instance. Therefore, the more information you can provide to us to help you find insurance cover (such as previous flood history) the better.
If your home is at risk from flood, start planning now.
The following tips from the Environment Agency should help:
In advance
- Make a list of key contact numbers such as utility providers, insurance company (include policy number) and friends/relatives, as well as a list of items you want to protect in the event of a flood.
After a flood warning
- Move furniture and electrical items to safety
- Put polythene sheeting and sandbags in place
- Turn off electricity, water and gas supplies
- Roll up carpets and rugs
- Unless you have time to remove them, hang curtains over rods
- Move sentimental items to safety
- Put important documents in polythene bags and move to safety.
If you would like more information on your home insurance, flooding and what you can do to best prepare, please call us on 01274 515747