§ John MannTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many houses in England she estimates are uninsurable owing to flood risk. [147736]
§ Mr. MorleyAccording to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), it is the intention of the insurance industry, working in partnership with the Government, that flood insurance should continue to be available to the vast majority of existing properties. As set out in the ABI's Statement of Principles1, of the 1.9 million properties on the floodplain, flood insurance will continue to be available for all those properties defended to a minimum standard of 1 in 75, or for those properties where such defences are planned by 2007.
For other properties (currently estimated at 200,000), insurers cannot guarantee to maintain cover, but will examine the risks on a case-by-case basis, and will use their best efforts to continue to provide cover. ABI believes that nearly all homes are insurable to a degree, provided appropriate local action is taken to protect the property, e.g., use of flood resilient design, accredited protection products, and temporary defences. However, the insurance industry has signalled that inappropriate new developments in the floodplain are unlikely to be able to secure insurance cover.
1www.abi.org.uk/Display/File/78/Statement_of Principles.doc