Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness, has added his support to new Government plans to reward householders plagued by repeated floods with discounted insurance premiums if they install resilience measures in their homes.
Flood-hit communities will be urged to take advantage of protections such as flood barriers and flood resistant coatings on walls.
The plans come as part of a consultation, launched yesterday (1st February), asking for people’s opinions on amendments to the ‘Flood Re’ scheme – a joint government/industry initiative designed to help households at high flood risk access affordable insurance by passing on the flood risk element of home insurance to Flood Re, and charging a set premium to households based on council tax bands.
Introduced in 2016, the Flood Re scheme followed Graham’s Flood Insurance Petition in March 2013. Handed to 10 Downing Street by current South West Holderness Ward Councillor John Dennis, National Flood Forum representative Ron Smith and local resident Les Diment, as well as the former mayor of Hedon, Mike Bryan, who sadly passed away last year from Covid-19, it called for the Government to negotiate with the Association of British Insurers to ensure that home flood insurance was affordable.
Since its launch, Flood Re has benefitted more than 300,000 properties and reduced insurance by more than half for four in five households.
Graham said, “Tackling flooding has been one of my top priorities for years. I chaired the River Hull Board until 2016, which worked to remove sunken vessels, raised riverbanks at key points and upgraded several pumps.
“I launched a petition back in 2013 to make home insurance more affordable for those at risk of flooding and it’s been really good to see Flood Re go from strength to strength since its launch.
“Climate change will make extreme weather more common in the years to come. Flood defences are vital, but people also need to take steps to prepare for flooding and protect their homes. I’m glad to see that the Government is being forward-thinking by proposing financial incentives in the form of discounted insurance premiums.
“It also ties in nicely with the £200 million-strong flood innovation funding, some of which can be used to raise awareness of simple steps people can take to prepare for flooding. I’ve liaised with the council and written to Ministers in support of some of this funding being spent here in the East Riding.”
The Government has pledged a record £5.2 billion to tackle flooding in the next cycle of funding, which runs until 2027. Around 2,000 new defences will be built to better protect over 336,000 properties.
