Property level resilience has been understood and well documented in the UK for 20 years, and an effective supply chain in place for at least 10 years. Yet very little of the £1 billion + paid out annually by insurers to households damaged by flooding is used to install even simple resilience measures that would mitigate future damage. This issue is at the heart of some developing tensions between the EA & Insurers. The Bonfield report also highlights this issue. Two notes:

By Roger Harrabin BBC environment analyst ‘Hundreds of thousands of householders in flood risk areas have failed to install basic protection against rising waters, insurers say. The Association of British Insurers said even buildings guarded by flood defences should have flood-proof doors in case embankments are over-topped. The comments add to a complex blame game over responsibility for floods. The insurers have been criticised by the Environment Agency for failing to protect inundated properties. Local councils are also part of the melee – they want more cash for flood funding from the government, and more control of how it is spent. They are critical of the Environment Agency.

Ministers are in the fray too, as demands increase for tighter building standards to ensure at-risk homes are made more flood resistant. Some of these tensions around flood policy are revealed in a little publicised report [Bonfield report – see below] to government that ministers plan to launch in coming weeks.

In the report, the Environment Agency blames insurers for failing to prepare for the increased threat of flooding. The insurers, the agency says, should not simply re-instate flooded homes to their original state – they should ensure properties are resistant or resilient to future floods. Emma Howard Boyd, who chairs the agency, says: “There is a disconnect between insurance reinstatement and resilient repair of property. “Loss adjustors and builders do not understand the benefits of resilient measures. “It is not clear that the insurance industry value property-level resilience or incentivising people to have it.” That is despite research suggesting that precautionary measures are extremely good value. The report’s main author, Sir Peter Bonfield, points the finger at householders for failing to improve their homes after flooding.

He says: “The typical range of [flood-proofing] measures have a cost-benefit ratio in excess of £5 for every £1 invested in terms of reduced damages. “However, there is still relatively low uptake in England – people at high flood risk aren’t routinely installing resilience measures in their homes and businesses.” Sir Peter also says ministers may need to tighten building regulations to ensure that at-risk homes are properly protected – say, by raising plugs, fuse boxes and damp-proof courses. Click here to read more.

Improving property level flood resilience: Bonfield 2016 action plan

Defra; This action plan sets out recommendations from the Property Level Flood Resilience Roundtable, chaired by Peter Bonfield. In 2015, the roundtable was asked to look at ways to help people protect their property and businesses from the effects of flooding. This action plan sets out what the group has done so far, what it plans to do in the future, and its recommendations to government.  Click here to download the report.