Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
We asked the Department why some people faced difficulties in obtaining affordable insurance after being...
Conclusion
We asked the Department why some people faced difficulties in obtaining affordable insurance after being flooded, particularly those in social housing. The Department said that Flood Re, a joint initiative between the insurance industry and the UK Government, was established to ensure affordable flood risk insurance is available, regardless of whether a property has been flooded recently.29 It was established by the Water Act 2014, launched in 2016, and will run until 2039. Written evidence provided by Flood Re stated that more than 300,000 households have been backed by the Flood Re scheme since it was launched, and independent research shows that 98 per cent of households with prior flood claims can now obtain quotes from five or more insurers.30 26 Q 58 27 Qq 58–59; C&AG’s Report, para 2.21–2.22 28 Q 60 29 Q 61 30 Written evidence submitted by Flood Re, MFR0003, 14 January 2021. Managing food risk 15
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 7.2 The department wrote to the Committee on 7 April 2021 in response to this recommendation. 7.3 The Independent Review of Flood Insurance in Doncaster, published on 5 November 2020, made 12 proposals that government is considering. One of the proposals suggests the department repeats the 2018 research into the affordability and availability of flood insurance for households and small and medium sized enterprises. This research is due to commence in Spring 2021 and run until Autumn 2022. The research, the department’s fourth since 2013, will identify trends in relation to the availability and affordability of flood insurance and explore the number of policies with flood exclusions. 7.4 On 1 February 2021, government published a consultation on proposed changes to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Flood Re scheme and to accelerate uptake of Property Flood Resilience (PFR). The government also published a Call for Evidence (CfE) on 1 February 2021 seeking evidence on key PFR enablers to inform policy development and action required to drive PFR uptake. The government will be publishing its response to these in due course. 7.5 The government further supports the installation and development of an effective PFR market through the £5.2 billion capital investment programme, the PFR recovery grant scheme, three regional Property Flood Resilience Pathfinders and through the PFR Roundtable. 7.6 At the 2020 Budget, the government announced a new £200 million ‘place-based resilience programme’ to run to 2027 which will help over 25 local areas to take forward wider innovative actions that improve resilience to flooding and coastal erosion, including PFR.