It can be worrying to live in an area which frequently suffers from floods. You don’t know whether you are likely to have a flood at any time. Your home could be under threat with minimal notice. There is no real way of preventing floods from happening. While measures can be taken to alleviate the risk of floods, if there is a period of heavy rainfall you will always be in danger. However, flood insurance offers a way to limit the long term effects of floods on you and your property.
Increased Risk
Floods are a growing risk in the UK. A combination of climate change and town planning concerns mean that places which might previously not have been at great risk of flooding are now in danger. Poorly cleaned and maintained drains meant that Lancaster was hit with flash floods for the second time in a year. At the same time, homes in County Antrim were also flooded – some areas receiving 88.2mm of rain in a few hours.
Concrete Jungle
The increasingly concreted world of British cities is contributing to the risk of flooding. People turn their front gardens into off street pave parking spaces. This creates a greater weight of run-off for our ageing drainage systems to deal with. Flooding does not need to mean being near a water source any more. Flash floods could hit almost anywhere in the country now.
Peace of Mind
Flood insurance might not be something you had ever considered before. This is especially the case if you live in an area which does not usually get floods. The changing climate and new realities of weather mean that more people than ever need to consider protecting themselves against floods. Alternative Insurance’s comprehensive flood insurance policies can protect you against loss from floods – even if you are in an area with a high risk.
The government has a number of advisory schemes and assistance pages. These can be of help when you apply for Flood Insurance. You can find out how much risk of flooding you are under. You can also sign up for flood warnings from the government.
