UK flooding losses set to reach £1bn

The property search firm revealed that the individual cost from major flooding events was also rising.

The Environment Agency said a major coastal flooding event in the Humber estuary could cause damage worth £266m and as sea levels rose, this could reach £1.4bn by 2040.

The agency predicted in the next thirty years, sea levels would rise by approximately 40cm.

Such high potential losses would place heavy strain on the insurance market.

The Association of British Insurers calculated an increase in the cost of a single flooding event to £12bn would require 10% of the capacity of the global reinsure market.

Richard Hinton, business development director of SearchFlow, said: “The twin impacts of climate change and ongoing property development mean the danger of flood liability is growing rapidly.

“So great is the potential risk from rising sea levels and construction on the floodplain to accommodate a rising population, the UK’s flood liability could come to dominate the global reinsurance market.

“In practice that would mean many in high risk areas would be unable to obtain insurance at all, which would significantly reduce the value of their properties and potentially could put homeowners in breach of their mortgage agreements.

“Many property owners don’t realise the extent of the danger they face. It’s no longer safe to assume that historically low flood risk is an indicator of what to expect in the future.”