Flood victims suffer as insurance costs rise

Jamie Elliott in the Guardian (UK): Flood victims continue to face spiralling costs for home insurance as excesses for flood cover rise to levels that are making their properties virtually impossible to sell. Many have invested thousands to protect their homes from flooding, but these efforts are rarely rewarded by insurers.

"People are coming to us with huge premiums and flood excesses of up to £30,000, which is as good as having no insurance at all and makes their property virtually worthless," says Mary Dhonau, chief executive of the National Flood Forum, a charity that advises flood victims. "The problem has got steadily worse over the past year and we are now being overwhelmed by calls from homeowners who have spent a huge amount protecting their property, but are still being charged ridiculous premiums or refused cover altogether."

Chris Wreghitt's Axa home insurance premium leapt to more than three times what it had been when his Worcestershire property was flooded in 2007. "Prior to the flood, I was paying just under £1,000 a year, and when I came to renew in 2008 they put the premium up to £1,638," he says. "But this year they wanted to increase it to £3,747."…

Cropped image from the title Page of an 1884 reprint of A true report of certaine wonderfull ouerflowings of Waters, now lately in Summerset-shire, Norfolke and other places of England..., originally printed in London 1607