Floods: Insurance
Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she is taking steps to ensure that flood insurance continues to be available as a feature of standard household and small business policies after the expiration of the Statement of Principles agreement between the UK Government and devolved governments and the insurance industry on 30 June 2013.

Richard Benyon (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Natural Environment and Fisheries), Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Newbury, Conservative)

In 2008 the Government and the insurance industry agreed that the existing Statement of Principles would expire on 30 June 2013. A new shared understanding is being developed that sets out more clearly what individual customers can expect from their insurer and the Government. It will also reinforce the principle that action taken by communities, individuals, Government and businesses to reduce flood risk will be the best way of keeping insurance terms affordable into the future.

In the current spending period, the Government is spending over £2.17 billion on flood and coastal erosion risk management, thus offering better protection to over 145,000 homes.

We are also considering the case for additional measures to help safeguard the affordability of flood insurance. We are in intensive negotiations with the insurance industry and will provide a further update in the near future.