Flood Insurance: What's Covered, What's Not, and What to Do in High-Risk Areas
Flood damage to a property can be devastating and expensive. Standard home insurance in the UK includes flood cover for most properties, but high-risk areas face exclusions, higher excesses, and limited insurer options. This guide explains how flood cover works, how flood risk is assessed, and the options for those in high-flood-risk zones.
How flood cover works in standard home insurance
In the UK, flood is a named peril in most standard home insurance policies — it is not sold separately. Buildings insurance covers the structural damage from flood water: damaged walls, floors, ceilings, fitted kitchens, and bathrooms. Contents insurance covers furniture, electronics, and possessions damaged by flood water. Both require a separate claim if both are affected, though many insurers allow a combined claim under a combined buildings and contents policy.
Flood cover typically excludes: damage caused by poor maintenance (e.g., a drain you knew was blocked), coastal erosion, and sometimes damage from gradual seepage rather than sudden flood events. Check your policy's definition of "flood" — some policies define it narrowly as external water from a named water source. See exclusions explained for how perils and exclusions interact.
How flood risk is assessed
Insurers use postcode-level and property-level flood risk data from the Environment Agency (England), Natural Resources Wales, SEPA (Scotland), and DfI Rivers (Northern Ireland). Properties are rated by risk of flooding from rivers, seas, surface water, and groundwater. A postcode in a low flood-risk area will have a standard premium and no flood-specific excess. A high-risk postcode may attract a flood-specific excess (sometimes £2,500–£10,000), a premium loading, or a policy exclusion for flood entirely.
Low risk
Standard policy, no flood excess. Flood included as a standard peril at no additional cost.
Medium risk
Flood cover available but may attract a flood-specific excess or a small premium loading.
High risk
Flood may be excluded by standard insurers. Flood Re or specialist insurers required. Large flood-specific excesses common.
Very high risk
Standard market unavailable. Specialist underwriting, bespoke terms, or Flood Re (if eligible) the only options.
Flood Re: the safety net for high-risk properties
Flood Re is a reinsurance scheme funded by a levy on all home insurers. It allows participating insurers to pass the flood element of eligible high-risk policies to Flood Re at a capped cost — which in turn allows the insurer to offer cover to the homeowner at an affordable premium. If you have been unable to get flood cover at a reasonable price, ask your broker or insurer specifically whether Flood Re applies to your property. See the Flood Re website for more information.
Key Flood Re eligibility rules: only residential properties; only buildings built before 1 January 2009; not leasehold flats where the freeholder insures the building; not properties registered as a business address. See also our natural hazard guidance article.
Flood insurance FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- Flood Re is a joint industry and government scheme that allows insurers to reinsure the flood risk element of home insurance policies for eligible properties. This enables insurers to offer affordable flood cover to high-risk households that would otherwise be unable to get it at reasonable cost. Properties built after 1 January 2009 are excluded from Flood Re (to avoid incentivising building in flood-risk areas). Leasehold flats, commercial properties, and properties with more than 3 unrelated occupants are also excluded. See the Flood Re website for the full eligibility criteria.
- Escape of water and flood are distinct perils under a home insurance policy. Escape of water covers damage caused by burst or leaking pipes, tanks, or appliances within the property — typically an internal event. Flood cover addresses external water ingress from rivers, surface water, or the sea. Both are standard perils on comprehensive home insurance policies, but they may have different excesses. See the five parts of every policy for how perils are listed.
- If you live in a high flood-risk area and standard insurers have declined cover or quoted an unaffordable premium, the Flood Re scheme may help — it applies to eligible residential properties regardless of flood history. You access it via your insurer, who passes the flood element to Flood Re. If your property is ineligible for Flood Re (post-2009 build, leasehold, commercial), specialist insurers who underwrite flood-risk properties directly may be able to help, often at a higher premium with flood-specific conditions.
- Property-level flood resilience measures can reduce both the risk of damage and, in some cases, the insurance premium. Examples include: flood barriers for doors and airbricks, one-way valves on drains, raised electrical sockets, water-resistant flooring on ground floors, and a sump pump. Some insurers take flood resilience measures into account when pricing. The National Flood Forum provides guidance on flood resilience for homeowners.