How to protect your home from flooding
Government figures reveal that 6.3 million properties in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water. That number is expected to steadily increase due to climate change.
By Alan Boswell Group
The financial cost of dealing with flooding is staggering. A recent study by the University of Bristol estimated that floods cause £740 million worth of damage annually. At a household level, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates the average cost of repairing a flood-damaged home to be £33,600.
Not only can being unprepared for a flood be expensive, but research also shows that dealing with the impact of a flood can leave you with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. We look at what you should do if you’re immediately affected by a flood, how to protect your property in the future, and offer tips for finding the best flood insurance for your needs.
What to do if there’s a flood in your home
If you’ve had no time to prepare and your home is flooding, you should:
Check that all family members can be accounted for.
Move your family and pets upstairs.
Take essentials with you, including medication and any sentimental or important documents (such as passports, birth certificates, and insurance documentation).
Turn off gas, electricity, and water supplies, but only if it is safe to do so (do not touch electrical sources if you are standing in water).
Fill jugs and pans with clean drinking water.
Avoid contact with floodwater.
Listen to news and updates using your phone or battery-operated radio.
Report the incident to Floodline on their incident hotline 0800 807060.
Call emergency services if you are in immediate danger.
Is my home likely to flood?
If you own your home, the searches conducted when purchasing should indicate whether your property is at risk of flooding. If you don’t know or want to double-check, you can find flood risk predictions based on where you live in the UK:
You can also use these interactive maps for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
How do I get flood alerts?
You can sign up for flood warnings at:
GOV.UK (for England)
SEPA (for Scotland)
Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru (for Wales)
Currently, there is no flood warning service in Northern Ireland, but you can check the risk of flooding in your area at NI Direct.
How to prepare for a flood
If there’s the slightest chance your home could be affected by flooding, it’s essential to be prepared. Some towns and villages may already have a flood plan in place (check your local authority or parish council website). If there is a plan, it’s worth printing this out and putting it somewhere accessible.
You can also put together your own personal flood plan for your home. This will help protect your property and minimise damage. You can download flood plan templates from various sources, including the Environment Agency. Personal flood plans usually suggest:
Preparing a list of useful contact numbers
This list could include telephone numbers of your:
Local council
Parish council
Home insurance broker or insurer
Gas, electric, and water providers
GP and local hospital
Vet
You may also want to identify people you could ask for help in an emergency and consider whether any vulnerable neighbours might need assistance.
Choosing which belongings and documents to keep safe
Decide which sentimental items or important documents you want to keep safe and away from floodwater, such as your driving licence, passport, birth certificate, medical cards, insurance documents, laptops, and photo albums. These should be stored in a waterproof container and placed in a location that is easily accessible.
Knowing how to shut off your electricity or gas supply
Familiarise yourself with how to turn off your electricity, gas and water supply so you can act quickly if needed. Remember – you should only switch off utilities if it is safe to do so. Never touch electrical sockets or sources if you are standing in water.
Putting together a flood kit
A flood kit brings together the essentials that can help you if a flood strikes. Your kit could include:
Waterproofs, warm clothing, blankets or sleeping bags.
Torch and batteries.
Wind-up or battery-operated radio.
Mobile power bank for charging phones.
First aid kit and any prescription medicines.
Drinking water and non-perishable food.
Baby supplies (nappies, food, toys).
Pet supplies (food, lead, carrier).
Ensure that everyone living with you is aware of where to find the flood kit and who to contact in an emergency.
How can I protect my home from flooding?
If your home is at high risk of flooding, there’s lots you can do to minimise or prevent damage. Some measures are simple, quick and inexpensive, but others require more time and investment.
Tips to protect your home if there is an imminent risk of flood
Install barriers if you’ve been warned that a flood is imminent. You can place sandbags around the perimeter of your property to hold back flooding and attach flood boards to doors and windows. Special covers to seal off air bricks are also available.
Raise appliances like washing machines and tumble dryers to minimise the chance of damage during a flood.
Buy a pump to remove water that enters your home.
Tips for long-term flood protection
Fit non-return valves to toilets, basins, and sinks. These will prevent sewage from flowing back into your home.
Modify landscaping around your home to encourage water to drain away from its foundations. Use mulch, rocks, or other permeable materials to help absorb water and reduce runoff.
Apply waterproof seals and install flood-resistant doors and windows to prevent water infiltration.
Raise electrical sockets if possible; positioning them higher can reduce the risk of floodwater reaching them.
Seal floors and walls with a waterproof membrane, or at the very least, apply waterproof paints or coatings to walls and floors to help prevent water infiltration.
You can also get an idea of how much it would cost to floodproof your home by visiting the National Flood Forum’s Property Protection Advisor. Simply enter your address to download an instant appraisal report, which includes suggested measures for flood protection, broken down by average costs.
Will my home insurance cover flood damage?
Home insurance can cover the aftermath of a flood, including the cost of hiring and using drying-out equipment, as well as clean-up. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may need to move out of your property while it dries out and is repaired – which can take up to a year in some cases. If you have cover for alternative accommodation as part of your policy, your insurer will pay for you to stay elsewhere while your home is uninhabitable. If you have contents insurance, this will cover the cost of repairing or replacing your belongings.
If you’ve been given a flood warning, and your home is particularly vulnerable to flooding, insurers will expect you to take reasonable precautions to reduce the risk of damage (known as ‘mitigation of loss’). For example, moving items upstairs, using sandbags to block up doorways and packing an emergency overnight bag in case you need to evacuate at short notice.
Home insurance if you’ve been flooded before
If you’ve been affected by a flood and suffered losses before, your insurer will expect you to take reasonable measures to help minimise future losses. Measures you might be expected to take include investing in flood barriers for doors and windows, raising electrical sockets, and installing more efficient drainage to cope with excess water. If you haven’t done so already, you’d also be expected to sign up for flood alerts.
If you’ve been badly affected by flooding before, it can also be harder to find home insurance to cover you. This is because to insurers, the risk is simply too great. To counteract this, several insurers have signed up to Flood Re, a government-backed scheme which participating insurers financially contribute to.
Flood Re pools the risk, allowing more homeowners to access affordable flood cover. So, if you’ve had problems with flooding before and are struggling to get insured, Flood Re might be able to help. You can check whether your home is eligible by using their online tool.
Is flooding the same as ‘escape of water’?
Escape of water is another home insurance term, but it’s not the same as flooding.
An escape of water describes a leak that originates inside your home. The term ‘flood’ refers to water that comes into your home from an external source – such as a river, the sea, or surface water runoff. It’s essential to understand the difference, as your insurance cover and excess may vary for each.
Does landlord insurance cover flood damage?
Landlord building insurance generally includes flood cover. That said, if your rental property is in a high flood-risk area, insurers may decline to quote or will quote excluding flood cover.
Unfortunately, rental properties aren’t eligible for flood insurance under the Flood Re scheme. Instead, you can consider FloodFlash, which offers flood insurance for commercial properties (including residential buy-to-lets). These policies are available through insurance brokers, including Alan Boswell Group.
To be eligible for FloodFlash cover, you’ll need to install flood sensors. Once those sensors have been breached and flood water reaches a certain level, you’ll automatically get a pre-agreed payment to help cover the cost of repairs.
If you include contents in your rental, it’s a good idea to have landlord contents insurance. Tenants are responsible for their own belongings and should have their own policy.
What should I do if my home has been flooded?
If your home has been flooded, you should try to minimise or prevent further damage. This could include salvaging as much as possible by relocating it upstairs or to a safer location. If necessary, carry out any temporary repairs to make the property safe and secure.
You should also contact your broker or insurer as soon as possible to start the claims process. If possible, take photos before, during, and after any clean-up, as it may take several days for your insurer to send a loss adjuster to assess the extent of the damage. You should also take photos of any items you plan to dispose of, such as carpets and other soft furnishings that have been damaged.
Sadly, flooding poses a significant risk to many property owners, and the number of those at risk is expected to increase over time. If your home is vulnerable, taking steps to minimise potential damage should always be the priority. That said, even with comprehensive precautions in place, flood damage can still be devastating, which is why it’s crucial to have suitable home insurance.
Need help with your insurance?
If you’re concerned about flooding and believe your home is at risk, you can contact us, and a member of our team will guide you through your options. We offer independent advice and tailor policies to suit you.