AA Insurance has asked the government to continue investing in flood defences as well as suggesting local councils should not approve building in high risk areas.
The floods of last year were exacerbated by the inability of the drainage systems to take the water away, aspects that the government can have a big say in. Around 180,000 claims were made last year following the floods said AA Insurance, costing insurers some GBP3 billion. There were also many people without home insurance who suffered as well, highlighting the need for both buildings and contents insurance to protect the most valuable assets people have.
Looking to the future there may be a situation where insurers like AA Insurance and others refuse to cover people for flood damage unless steps are taken to improve the defences available. Such a scenario would be a nightmare for homeowners of course. An alternative may be higher premiums, though the increase would be large in order to cover the potential risk, again leading to many consumers being unable to afford the cover they need.
Tesco Finance have introduced the well known Finest branding to their home insurance, with this top of the line cover introducing a concierge service and even higher values of protection.
The cover offered for buildings is now unlimited, and the protection for contents while the house is empty, for example at Christmas, has doubled from GBP5,000 to GBP10,000. As a special offer Tesco Finance are also giving customers an extra 20 percent on the amount of protection offered free of charge.
Tesco are also including an initial appetizer that will be well received by new customers, namely a GBP60 shopping voucher, which can also be redeemed at the petrol station if required.
According to Tesco Finance the cost of not changing home insurance companies last year totalled GBP26 million.
The study found that almost two thirds of people remained with their existing insurance providers when it came to renewal time, even though almost half of them saw the cost increase over the previous year. For around 4 million of them the increase was more than the level of inflation, said a Tesco Finance spokesman, even though only a small number of these had increased their cover or made a claim.
The advice that comes out loud and clear from Tesco is that everyone should at least get a couple of alternative quotes at renewal time to make sure they are getting the best home insurance deal available.
