Mr. Michael FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will take steps to assist householders to find insurance cover for properties affected by flooding; [62333]
(2) what recent discussions she has held with the Association of British Insurers regarding insurance cover for those affected by flooding; [62335]
476W(3) what estimate her Department has made of the impact on householders of the withdrawal of flood insurance cover. [62334]
§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what agreement exists for the present year with the Association of British Insurers about maintaining insurance cover for households in areas at risk of flooding; [62602]
(2) what representations she has received about the decision by Esure to stop providing flood insurance for households in areas at risk of flooding; and if she will discuss this with Esure. [62603]
§ Hugh BayleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations the Government made to the insurance industry during and following the serious floods in 2000 to ensure that property insurance would continue to be available to owners and tenants of residential and commercial premises in areas at risk of flooding; what undertakings the insurance industry gave at that time; if she will respond to Esure's statement that insurers have decided to deny home insurance cover to prospective new clients in the 10 per cent. of postcodes most susceptible to flooding; and if she will make a statement about what steps the Government intend to take to ensure that property insurance remains available to all at a reasonable cost. [63439]
§ Mr. MorleyThere is an agreement in place with the Association of British Insurers member companies that during 2002, other than in exceptional circumstances, they will continue to provide flood cover for domestic properties and small businesses which they currently insure. Cases where there is an alleged breach of this agreement will be investigated by the ABI.
The insurance industry is a competitive one. Government have no plans to intervene in the market either generally or with individual companies. While recognising concern about the recent announcement by Esure, I understand their position to be that they will not provide cover to new clients in areas at risk of flooding. This decision is not a breach of the ABI agreement which relates only to renewal of existing policies. It is also my understanding that as a relatively newly formed company, Esure have few existing clients in the floodplain.
While no formal assessment has been made, I am aware that there could be a significant impact if insurers were to withdraw cover for households and businesses at risk of flooding. The Government are therefore working hard with the industry to try to ensure the continued, widespread availability of affordable flood cover beyond the end of 2002. There have been regular meetings with the insurance industry, at both ministerial and official level, to consider their calls for increased investment in flood and coastal defence, controls on development in areas at risk of flooding, simplified arrangements for implementing flood defences and better information on real flood risk. I expect to meet again with the industry later in the summer.
Mr. Michael FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of insurance payouts made as a result of the floods of autumn 2000. [62331]
477W
§ Mr. MorleyThe Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimate that total insurance losses from weather-related damage in autumn 2000 were some £1.3 billion. This includes damages from both storms and flooding; the ABI do not have separate figures for flooding alone.