Tips on how to minimise flood damage to your property.
Here are some frequently asked questions about covering a flood risk property, and how this could affect your mortgage.
When getting a quote for flooded home insurance, insurers usually need to know the proximity of water (in metres) to your property from the nearest water course, as well as information about any history of flooding in the area. This should include causes and dates. You may also be asked about any defences that have been installed since the flooding, and for a full flood claims history for your property, including the value of the claim and details of the work completed.
As part of mortgage requirements, lenders prefer buyers to have home insurance that includes flood cover. If you plan on buying a property in an area that has a high flood risk, whether as a landlord or as an owner-occupier, you may find the process difficult due to insurance availability and costs. If you're buying a property, your agent is legally obligated to inform you if it has ever flooded before. If your property has previously flooded, or is located in a high-risk flood area, many standard insurance policies may not offer the level of flooded home insurance you need. Home insurance quotes for flood risk areas can differ greatly.
Whether you can get ‘flood insurance’ will depend on a number of factors. Our partner, A-Plan's flooded home insurance provides cover for properties that have flooded in the past or that are in a high risk area. While in most circumstances A-Plan will be able to provide home insurance cover for properties previously affected by flooding, this may not include cover for flood. You'll need to tell them key information about the property in order to obtain a flood insurance quote, such as how close is your property to the nearest watercourse and whether any defences have been installed since the flooding happened.
If you don't have specialist requirements, take a look at A-Plan's range of standard home insurance policies.