The Chartered Insurance Institute’s New Generation Claims Group is helping individuals whose homes and businesses have been damaged by flooding through a leaflet providing important information on how to access funds to build back their property.
The leaflet, which was produced by the 2019-2020 batch of the New Generation Claims Group, informs property owners about the Property Level Flood Resilience Recovery Support Scheme created by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The scheme aims to improve the flood resilience of homes and businesses, and has been activated several times in response to major flooding events since its inception. The leaflet explains the scheme’s eligibility criteria and how to apply for a grant, which will contribute towards the cost of a survey and subsequent improvements to the property designed to prevent water from entering a building, or at least reduce the impact of damage in case it gets flooded.
Various procedures to improve homes’ resistance to flood are discussed, including moving electric fixtures, installing non-return valves on drains and pipes, fitting automatic air brick covers, and adding water-resistant kitchen units.
It also explains why home insurance policies only cover reinstating a home to how it was before a flood rather than funding improvements or storm damage preventative measures.
“The main goal of the leaflet is to increase uptake of the grant so properties can be rebuilt to a standard that minimises the impact of further flooding,” said Juliusz Baranski, a member of the CII’s New Generation Claims Group and rehabilitation technician at NFU Mutual. “This would benefit both the property owners by reducing the damage to buildings as well as insurance companies because it will reduce the financial impact on the claim spent.”
“This leaflet provides easy to follow guidance to members of the public who have been impacted by flooding and should be shared by claims handlers,” added Keith Richards, chief membership officer of the CII.
“This informative leaflet will help manage flood victims’ expectations of what can be done to restore their homes and businesses, details how to apply for the grant plus it explains how they can better prepare their properties for any future storms.”
