Flood Damage Insurance

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How can flood damage affect my home?

Flood damage occurs when a large volume of water from an outside source invades your property.

While a flood can happen quickly, it can leave a lasting effect on your home. Perhaps one of the most obvious effects of a flood is water damage, along with its associated effects like damp, mould and electrical problems, but there can be much larger consequences as well. These can range from sewage backflow to structural damage to your home’s foundation.

While insurance can’t keep a flood from happening, we can provide cover to help you deal with the effects.

What does flood insurance cover?

We wouldn’t leave you high and dry after a flood. Flood insurance is not a standalone product; however, here’s some of what we could cover:

Damage to your buildings caused by a flood	Yes	If a flood causes damage to your home, we would be able to cover it.
Damage to your contents caused by a flood	Yes	Similarly, if a flood causes damage to the contents of your home, we would also be able to cover it.
Damage to your garden caused by a flood	No	Unfortunately, were a flood to damage your garden, we would not be able to cover it.
Damage caused by rising ground water levels, which happens gradually over a period of time	No	Unfortunately, we would not be able to cover damage caused by rising ground water levels.

For full details on what is and isn’t covered, please refer to our policy booklet.

How can I prepare for a flood?

If you live in an area prone to flooding, there are a number of precautions you can take to make your home safer in the event of a flood. If you’re not sure if you live somewhere where a flood might occur, you can check using this website. Unfortunately, if you are on a floodplain or have previously flooded, we won’t be able to offer a quote; however, these tips may help you prepare.

1 Find a safe place for valuables and important documents

If your home is at risk of flooding, it’s important that your most treasured possessions and official documents are not kept close to the ground or in a basement or cellar. Find space on a higher floor or install shelves to keep your important items away from any future floods. Additionally, you may want to consider raising your furniture off the ground to help keep it from being damaged by water.

2 Assemble an emergency kit

In the event of a flood, you may have restricted access to the outside and various necessities. Keep an emergency kit stocked with:

Bottled water
Non-perishable food
Warm and waterproof clothing
A battery-powered radio
A torch with extra batteries and blankets and pillows

This should be enough to keep you warm, fed, and informed for the duration of the flooding. It’s also a good idea to keep important documents, such as passports and bank statements in a safe, waterproof area of the kit, and remember to replace the bottled water every six months.

3 Keep an eye on the weather

While of course you can check the weather app on your phone to see if rain is on the way, this may not alert you to potential floods. A good way to see if a flood might be coming your way would be to sign up for the government’s flood warning system. The service is free, and they’ll notify you by phone and email if an address you choose is at risk. You can enroll in the service directly from their website.

What to do if you know a flood is coming

If you know a flood might be on its way, you may want to take these extra steps to make sure your home will be safe:

Know how to shut off your utility mains

During a flood, you may need to shut off your electricity or gas, so make sure you know how to do this before any storms hit.

Park your car in a safe place

If a flood warning is in effect for your area, try to park your car somewhere elevated. You’ll want to avoid getting water in the engine, as it can cause serious damage to the components of the engine.

Install a toilet pan seal

A toilet pan seal can be fitted temporarily to keep sewage backflow or other waste water from entering your home. Toilet pan seals are small discs of plastic with inflatable rubber around the edge to ensure a snug fit in your toilet. They are available from a number of retailers online, and you can easily install and remove them yourself.

Prepare sand bags

Sand bags, air brick covers and flood sacks will all help keep water from entering your home. Before a flood, make sure you have air brick covers fitted and sandbags placed around your home. Though there is some risk of sandbags getting contaminated with sewage, they are still a simple and effective way of keeping water out of your home.

Other Optional Extras you can get with your home insurance

Getting these great Optional Extras for your home insurance can help enhance your cover.

Personal Possession

Personal Possessions Cover

Spend a little extra to get cover for accidental loss, damage and theft of your personal possessions while they are temporarily removed from your home anywhere in the United Kingdom and for up to 60 consecutive days anywhere in the rest of the world.

Pest Cover

For a small fee you can avoid ringing around – you can claim for the call out charge and the professional extermination or control of wasps nets, hornets nests, rats, mice or grey squirrels subject to an overall limit of £150 (including VAT per claim).

For the treatment of bed bugs this cover will pay the contractors charges subject to a maximum of three treatments/extermination and an overall limit of £200 (including VAT) of bed bugs in one infested area in the Home’

For full information, and terms and conditions on these Optional Extras please look at the policy booklet.

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