Home insurance: flooding

Is flooding covered by my home insurance?

Flooding can cause devastating damage to your property and possessions, incurring repair costs that can run easily into tens of thousands of pounds.

Fortunately, flood cover is a standard feature of home insurance. A typical buildings policy provides cover - at least in principle - for damage caused by floodwater entering your home from an external source. This can include:

• a river or canal bursting its banks
• storms and high tide
• heavy rainfall

If you've also bought contents insurance, your possessions are also covered.

As well as paying to replace what you've lost, policies generally also include cover for temporary accommodation if your home has been made uninhabitable.

• Find out more: best home insurers

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What isn't covered by home insurance?

While flood cover is a standard feature of home insurance, nothing is without caveats. It's prudent to double check what your policy contains (and doesn't) before buying. Three elements to look out for include:

Exclusions

If you live in a high-risk flood area, or your home has flooded in the past, the quotes you're offered by some insurance firms may exclude flood cover - or add a high excess.

Parts of your property

Certain parts of your property, such as its outbuildings or fences, might be left out or be optional.

Groundwater

Only a minority of policies cover groundwater flooding. See below for more on what groundwater flooding is.

This table shows which providers and policies from our survey cover flooding caused by the gradual build up of groundwater over time.

Table last updated in March 2023. Next update in September 2024.

• Find out more: Home insurance: subsidence

What about burst pipes?

Water damage caused by leaks within your property tend to be dealt with under different sections of your policy than flood cover.

If a pipe bursts in your home - for instance, due to cold weather - burst pipes cover or 'home emergency cover' (both of which may be optional) can pay for costs of repairing the leak.

If a pipe, taps or other parts of your plumbing leak because of general wear and tear, they're less likely to be covered, although insurers will typically pay for resulting damage to your home or possessions. This cover is referred to as 'escape of water'.

Another element of cover that many insurers offer is called 'trace and access'. This pays for an inspection of your property to locate the source of a leak.

What is groundwater flooding?

When it rains, the soil soaks up the water like a sponge. Groundwater occurs when some of this water trickles further downwards into rocks.

Once these rocks become saturated, they form what's known as a water table.

Groundwater flooding occurs when heavy rainfall causes the water table to rise, and makes it difficult for storm sewers and drainage networks to function properly.

Most home insurance providers don't cover groundwater flooding as part of a home insurance policy.

Unfortunately, it's not always clear from insurance policy documents whether groundwater flooding is covered, so it's best to check with your provider if you think you live in a susceptible area.

• Find out more: How to make a home insurance claim

How likely am I to be flooded?

According to the Environment Agency, more than 5.2 million homes are at risk of flooding in England alone - and, with increasingly volatile weather, that number is expected to rise.

Aviva estimates that around one in seven UK properties are at risk of flooding.

When considering whether to accept you as a customer or how much to charge you, home insurers will look at data about the likelihood of your property flooding. Among other things, this assessment can include how near you are to a body of water such as a river or the sea, local flood defences, and the history of flooding in the area.

• Find out more: How to find cheap home insurance

Do I live in a flood risk area?

Depending on where you live, there are different online resources to help you find out if your property is located in a flood-risk area.

England

If you live in England, you can check the Environment Agency website to find out if your home is at risk of flooding.

Wales

Residents in Wales can check the Natural Resources Wales website to find out whether a property is in a flood-risk area.

Scotland

If you live in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) website will be able to tell you if you live in a flood-risk area.

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Rivers Agency can help you find out if your home is in a flood-risk area.

All four websites have maps showing areas that may be at risk of flooding from rivers and seas.

What is a flood zone?

Flood zones, which were created by the Environment Agency, are used to work out how likely a particular area is to flood.

The zones only refer to areas at risk of flooding from rivers or the sea, although not all rivers have been included in calculating the zones.

There are three different flood zones: areas in flood zone 1 are least likely to experience flooding during the year, whereas those in flood zone 3 are most likely to experience flooding during the year.

Flood zone 1

Flood zone 1 includes areas that have less than 0.1% chance of flooding in any year.

Flood zone 2

Flood zone 2 includes areas that have 0.1-1% chance of flooding from rivers in any year, and 0.1-0.5% chance of flooding from the sea.

Flood zone 3

Flood zone 3 includes areas that have a 1% or higher chance of flooding from rivers, and a 0.5% or higher chance of flooding from the sea.

• Find out more: landlord insurance explained

Can I get home insurance if I live in a flood-risk area?

If you live in an area that's a high risk of flooding, you should still be able to access affordable home insurance that covers you for flooding.

While this didn't used to be the case for many homeowners, a government-backed scheme called Flood Re has existed since 2016 to help insurers cover people living in flood-prone areas.

Flood Re

All insurers pay into Flood Re through an industry levy. If an insurer considers a customer to be particularly high risk, it can 'cede' that customer's flood cover to Flood Re - meaning Flood Re will pay out if that customer goes on to make a flood claim.

Not everyone benefits from Flood Re. Among the types of property excluded from cover are commercial properties, homes built from 1 January 2009, and blocks of more than three residential flats.

Over 50 home insurers use Flood Re to take on high-risk customers. These include: Admiral, Aviva, AXA, Churchill, Direct Line, Halifax, John Lewis Specialist Home Insurance (underwritten by Covea), LV, Lloyds Bank, More Than, Nationwide Building Society, and NFU Mutual.

You can find the whole list on the Flood Re website, along with details of which types of property are and aren't covered.

If you're eligible for Flood Re cover, all you'll need to do to benefit is buy insurance from a participating insurer - either directly or via comparison sites. However, because not all insurers participate, if you live in an area of high flood risk it's still crucial to check that the quotes you're offered contain flood cover.

If you're having trouble finding an insurer that will offer you flood cover for your property, you might consider trying a specialist broker. The British Insurance Brokers' Association has an online tool and helpline to assist you.

Build back better

In 2022, Flood Re launched an additional scheme called 'Build Back Better'. Participating insurers are funded to pay up to £10,000 for customers making flood claims to install flood resilience measures as part of their repairs - preventing future flooding having as devastating an effect.

At the time of writing, the insurers currently participating are Ageas, Aviva, Axa, Bank of Scotland, Covea, Halifax, Hiscox, Lloyds Bank, LV, NFU Mutual and RSA. 

However, as this could change, it's worth asking your current or prospective provider to clarify if it participates and if you would benefit.

How can I get the best flood insurance?

Our best and worst home insurance guide includes insurers for which we could get customer scores, and top contents and buildings insurance policies from a wider range of providers.

In the reviews, you can see what cover each provider offers for alternative accommodation, groundwater, burst pipes and other elements of cover that could be relevant in a flood claim.

How can I reduce my property's flood risk?

There are several ways to help protect your home against flooding - often known as flood 'resistance' and 'resilience' measures. Resistance measures are products and adaptations designed to stop flood water entering your property. Resilience measures, meanwhile, are designed to reduce the damage flood water creates if it does get into your property.

Not all will be suitable for your home or circumstances, so you should seek advice from a flood-risk consultant or an independent flood-risk surveyor.

Some resistance measures include:

• flood barriers or flood-proof doors
• installing non-return valves into drainage pipes to avoid sewage backing up into the house
• installing airbrick covers.

Resilience measures include:

• water-resilient paints and plasters
• raised electrical sockets
• pumping systems.

If you live in an area that's facing flooding, other good practice precautions include:

• safely locking away outdoor furniture that may float or blow away
• putting valuables, electrical goods and important documents either upstairs or in high cupboards
• making a list of emergency numbers, including your local council, your insurers and Floodline (which you can reach on 0345 988 1188).

Flooding: your questions answered