The Hayward Tod Associates direcgor said: "We spoke with insurance companies when we were relocating flood-affected households into rented property and by and large there seemed to be a better understanding, or a little bit more compassion, among insurance companies than previously.

"This may be to do with the fact that they can't put up the shutters and say they're not interested in dealing with re-insuring, or the Government forcing their hand and saying you can't reasonably refuse."

In April the Government and insurance sector together launched Flood Re, to help home owners in flood-risk areas to find affordable home insurance. Previously many had been left with little choice but to pay extremely high prices for insurance.

According to the Association of British Insurers, fully drying out and restoring a flood-damaged home costs between £20,000 and £40,000 on average.

Buy-to-let landlords are excluded from claiming through Flood Re but they too have experienced an easier claims process this time, said Mr Tod of Hayward Tod Associates.

"We have quite a few buy-to-let landlords and things seem to have gone more smoothly this time. Maybe that's a message that is getting through - the insurance companies have to take responsibility, they do provide a service but they can't completely pick and choose.

"Landlord premiums have gone up by 5 per cent, possibly 10, but again they seem more in control than in previous years. Then they seemed to be much bigger hikes but you will have to pay a premium or higher excess than a property that hadn't been flooded."

Colin West, of Auction House Cumbria, has said that it will be increasingly difficult for investors or landlords to get insurance.

"We have heard that a couple of landlords have managed to secure landlord insurance but with very high premiums and very high excesses," he said. "That is going to be a problem in the future." he said.

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But this suggestion of problems with the future supply of rented homes was rejected by Mr Tod.

"The landlords are staying in the market, but for every one or two that are prepared to stay, there's perhaps one that decides they're not going to stick with it," he said. "They just can't put up with the threat of future disruption. One has put a couple of properties into auction, taken the insurance money and put it somewhere else."

The majority of the flooded properties that Hayward Tod has dealt with have been in the Warwick Road area of Carlisle.