19-09-2007
Insurance premium hikes not definite for flood victims
Insurance costs will not necessarily rise for victims of the floods that hit large parts of England during the summer, it has been suggested.
According to a spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI), many factors influence insurers' decisions to adjust the cost of premiums after the floods.
"Some insurers have said they will have to put up their premiums, others have said they won't," the spokesperson said.
Whether or not a property has a history of flooding will be considered by insurers, he added, but noted that automatic premium increases are not a given.
The ABI spokesperson added that insurance providers budget for damage caused by bad weather, but that "they don't necessarily have to expect to deal with two floods occurring so close to each other of such magnitude".
During the three months leading up to July 23rd this year, rainfall was more than double the typical average for that time of the year, according to BBC Panorama.