But it is not yet standard practice by solicitors, something that the Agency is working with the Law Society to change. For a number of years we have also provided local authorities with detailed floodplain maps to help them curb future development in flood risk areas. Insurers have known about these risks for many years - this information is not new. Rates are calculated over the long term and floods and storms are expected. For example weather damage, fire and theft claims are typically much higher than annual domestic flood damage claims.
Insurance is a competitive marketplace.
The ABI recommends that people go through a broker to get the best deal. Flood risk is now a daily fact of life in England and Wales. Looking at recent history, reports of flooding are now on average nearly twice as frequent as they were one hundred years ago. And experts from the Met Office Hadley Centre, world leaders in climate change, predict that we could see a very significant increase in flood risk over the next century. Today's extreme floods could become tomorrow's norm.