Give city folk a flood break

Last updated 11:46, Thursday, 07 August 2008

Three-and-a-half years on from that terrible January weekend, we would have hoped that the last story detailing the effects of flood misery in Carlisle had been written long ago.

And yet today we report that thousands of people in the city could be paying vastly inflated home insurance premiums because of flood risk – despite the fact that their properties have never been flooded.

Ordnance Survey found that insurance companies are classifying properties’ flood risk by their post code, rather than by whether they have actually been flooded. The result is inflated premiums and five-figure excesses for people whose homes survived even the mighty 2005 floods intact.

They, along with those whose homes were flooded, are paying the price for insurance companies’ caution and basic lack of research.

In an office hundreds of miles away, one street in Cumbria may seem very like another. But neighbouring streets and homes were affected very differently. Insurance company customers deserve an individual service rather than being lumped together with nearby properties.

The insurance industry’s eagerness to avoid further flood pay outs should not give it free rein to price thousands of Cumbrians out of the market, while failing to research the area or take into account Carlisle’s impressive recent flood prevention work.