Insurance struggle for Shropshire flooding victims

The authority says it is seeing an increase in the number of people who are being refused insurance against flooding and is encouraging those concerned to contact them through their website for advice.

The news comes in the wake of flooding in Cumbria which has seen thousands of people forced to leave their homes.

Shropshire was also affected by flooding over the past 10 days, although thankfully flood defences at both Shrewsbury and Ironbridge worked well and prevented people's properties being affected.

David Edwards, flooding and water manager at Shropshire Council, said: "Normally we get one or two calls from people having problems getting insurance over the space of a year but in the last few months we have had about 15."

Mr Edwards said that a number of the properties concerned are not those which would be considered at high-risk of flooding in planning terms.

He said: "The calls are coming from properties that when you look at them on the flood map are at risk, but are also properties that according to the flood map are at a low risk.

"I said to one lady the other day that if a planning application came in for her property then it would not be refused on grounds of the flood risk."

Mr Edwards urged people concerned about finding insurance to get in touch with the council through its website.

He said: "We have been taking a few more calls about flood insurance and we cannot help them by giving them insurance but we can help them by pointing them towards organisations which can help."

The council has also highlighted the creation of a new Government-backed insurance scheme, called Flood Re, which will come into force from April 2016.

In a briefing to councillors the authority said: "From April 2016 householders should be able to access more affordable flood insurance due to a new system known as 'Flood Re'.

"This will cap the amount of premium a householder pays for the flood element of their insurance depending on council tax band. For example homes in Band A will pay £210 a year and homes in Band G will pay £540.

"Insurers will use this facility for the one to two per cent highest risk homes, covering around 500,000 homes which are those least likely to find affordable flood insurance. If they are flooded those customers will deal directly with their insurer to get their claim paid and Flood Re will then reimburse the insurer for the cost of the claim."

Shropshire Council says it is also taking its own steps to help those who are struggling to get insurance, including providing information on flood alleviation schemes for insurers, and working with the National Flood Forum – a charity which can provide expert advice in getting affordable flooding insurance.

Meanwhile Dave Throup, of the Environment Agency, has said that while flood defences at both Shrewsbury and Ironbridge have protected properties during the recent flooding, people living in flood risk areas should always be prepared for the worst.

He said: "The point that we try to make is that while flood defences provide an excellent standard of protection against flooding they do not remove the risk of flooding altogether so the people who live behind flood defences should be taking preparations in case they do get flooded.

"The defences we have in place have protected around 2,000 properties up and down the Severn many times.

"They provide a very good standard of protection but you cannot remove that risk altogether."

Flood barriers have been put in place at Frankwell in Shrewsbury twice so far this year in a bid to protect parts of the historic town from the rising flood waters.

A flood barrier was also erected in Ironbridge last week by the Environment Agency as the River Severn, swollen by recent heavy rain in Wales, reached its highest point this year.

But the barriers in both areas have now been taken down again.

The previously flooded car park at Frankwell is now open again for shoppers and visitors, and the Environment Agency is always keen to take the barrier down in Ironbridge as soon as the waters start to fall to allow traffic to flow along the Wharfage to boost trade for local businesses.

With a yellow weather warning in place for Shropshire for Saturday with the prospect of more heavy rain, the Environment Agency will continue to monitor river levels before deciding whether rising levels will mean the barriers need to be put up again.

Although river levels remain high, the only flood warnings in operation are for the River Vyrnwy/River Severn confluence in the Llanymynech, Maesbrook and Crew Green areas, where they are expected to rise after overnight rain.