Although Flood Re has now opened for business it seems likely that it’s critics and others will make plenty of demands; these four articles outline the launch and expectations.

1.  Up to half a million households in high flood risk areas now have access to affordable flood insurance as Flood Re has officially opened for business. Following the final green light from the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), the world-first scheme is now accepting policies from insurers. Click here to read more.

2.  Flood-RE Insurance Scheme ‘May Be Extended To Small Businesses

A Government minister has revealed a new scheme to help households get affordable flood insurance could be extended to small businesses.  Many hundreds of companies are struggling to get cover after storms brought devastation to large parts of Yorkshire over Christmas. As reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post last week, updated figures show 678 businesses in Leeds – and a total of 3,396 properties including thousands of homes – were affected by the Boxing Day deluge …

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

3.  Conflicting aims could arise in long term problems

The Conversation: Flood Re’s goals are conflicting. Current premium levels in the market do not reflect the risk borne, meaning that the flood component of home insurance for high-risk households is subsidised by low-risk households. If premium levels for high-risk households reflected the true risk, they would be unaffordable for some.

Click here to read more

4.  But they have a plan to do this …. Flood Re: home insurance market to return to “risk-reflective pricing” by 2039  

Flood Re, the body set up to enable insurers to offer lower premiums and excesses to high-risk flood homes across the UK, has produced its first transition plan setting out how the home insurance market will return to risk-reflective pricing by 2039. Ahead of Flood Re’s planned launch in April, the statutory plan sets out how the scheme will work with partners to enable lower prices and excesses to be offered to consumers by the time it comes to an end in 2039. Flood Re said the three combined elements will enable informed decisions to be taken on the most effective ways to reduce the cost of flooding and therefore insurance. The plan does not comprehensively describe how Flood Re will reduce the scheme’s subsidy – the evidence base required to plan for transition does not currently exist. To read more click here.