Should you make sure that flood insurance is part of your home cover? A significant portion of UK homes are at risk from flooding, and a good home insurance policy should always cover the cost of replacing or restoring damaged items. But good forward planning can make a real difference, as well as helping to prevent the heartache over losing something irreplaceable because of flooding.
While it is rarely possible to make any home completely flood-proof, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure the damage done by external flooding is as minimal as possible (see protecting your home from winter weather for advice on preventing flooding from burst or frozen pipes).
Flood risk management
The flooding risk of your home will vary according to the area you live in. Depending on how severe your risk is, there are a variety of steps you may want to consider taking:
- Keep valuable items high up on wall-mounted shelves
- Fix your TV and hi-fi to the wall about 1.5 metres above floor level
- Have water-resistant skirting boards fitted, or varnish existing wooden ones
- Fit a pump into your basement to extract flood water
- If your flooding risk is really severe, use rugs rather than fitted carpets, which often need to be replaced after a flood
Hiscox has found flood insurance claims over the past three years peak in June and July because of heavy summer rains, with another small peak seen in January. Therefore it is well worth thinking through your flood risk management plan in advance.
Find the right Hiscox insurance policy for you
Hiscox home insurance, includes cover for flood damage as standard*. Also, as part of our policy documentation, we list the perils we don’t cover, so you will be able to fully understand how your property is protected. More information about home insurance >
*subject to underwriting criteria.
Useful resources
Environment Agency
