Defra consults on Flood Re revamp

Defra is consulting on changes to the Flood Re scheme in the wake of recent storms Bella and Christoph.

The joint government and industry Flood Re is designed to improve the availability and affordability of flood insurance for UK households at high flood risk.

Defra said the proposed changes aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme and to accelerate uptake of property flood resilience measures. They included:

• the ability for Flood Re to offer discounted premiums to households that have fitted property flood resilience measures, such as airbrick covers or non-return valves;

• permitting the payment of claims to include an additional amount to build back better, in a more flood resilient way;

• exploring whether there’s more that the Flood Re scheme could do to accelerate uptake of property flood; resilience, including whether the scheme’s currently available funding could contribute;

• exploring whether Flood Re premiums should be further reduced; and

• technical changes to improve the scheme’s efficiency.

The government has also published a Call for Evidence to look at changes to the flood funding formula to benefit frequently flooded communities, and ways to increase the uptake of property flood resilience measures so that homes and businesses are better protected.