ABI Calls For Long Term Flood Strategy

by Stewart Douglas

Story link: ABI Calls For Long Term Flood Strategy

The Association of British Insurers has today said that the UK government must come up with a 25-year strategy in order to tackle the increasing problems of with flooding faced by the mainland, calling for action in preventing flooding and allocating risk away solely from the insurance industry.

The Association, or ABI, today said that the government must prepare for future floods in order to avoid similar scenes as those this summer across parts of Yorkshire, where widespread flooding caused serious damage to households and business properties, costing the insurance industry millions in the process.

The report published today, entitles Summer Floods 2007 - Learning the Lessons, is designed to highlight areas of imminent improvement to prevent repeat scenes of the summer flooding, and warns the government to start taking action on planning regulation and flood defences in order to prevent further lasting damage.

Also contained within the report was empirical evidence to suggest widespread consensus amongst those affected by flooding in the summer that they would experience similar scenes again if changes were not implemented to prevent the onset of further severe weather - a message adding further weight to the ABI’s calls.

Speaking today on the report, the ABI director general Stephen Haddrill announced that the summer floods has created an environment of responsibility and proactivity within the industry, and this had to be matched by the government on a long term basis.

“Insurers want to continue to provide flood insurance. The right decisions from the government will ensure that flood insurance remains widely available and affordable in the UK.”

It remains to be seen whether this, the latest of several calls on the government to act, will have any influence on the future strategy on flood defense and damage mitigation.