Global warming and the resulting floods have been front page news for years now. Whether the recent spate of torrential rain is a result of climate change or not, it is certain that the recent wet weather is playing havoc with people’s lives across the country.
So how can you avoid flooding?
As they say…prevention is better than cure. There are now a number of ways to find out before you buy or lease a property how likely it is to flood. Whilst these might cost a few hundred pounds it could save a lot more money and distress in the long term to check before you go ahead. It is not just those buying land next to a river who need to worry.
Can I get insurance to protect against flooding?
Hmm this is a topical one. If you are about to buy or lease land that might flood it is essential you check you can get insurance. If you are borrowing to buy the land your lender won’t give you the money if you don’t have insurance.
The problem is that just because you can get insurance now it does not mean you can get insurance in future years. Insurance companies might decide not to cover certain high risk land. There is also a real chance that the recent flooding, said to be costing insurers dear, will mean that insurance premiums go up for all and particularly for land at risk of flooding.
We don’t yet know how things will pan out and what will happen if large areas of property cannot be insured against flooding. When terrorism was top of the list of concerns a government scheme call Pool Re was one solution and a similar solution may pop up here.
There is some good news…
It is cold comfort to some but those of us have not been flooded can rest a bit easier knowing our property has withstood awful weather and survived and there is less risk of future problems.
It is common before buying or leasing property to ask to questions. If this is done and no flooding is disclosed people may now feel happier that the risk is low.
– Chamber Legal Forum Member, Angela Dennis, partner and Head of Property Fisher Meredith LLP – Angela has over 10 years of experience dealing with a variety of property matters including buying and leasing land including land in floodplains; she is based in the Richmond office providing city expertise (previously worked at city firm CMS Cameron McKenna) locally to SMEs and high net worth individuals who want value for money, a bespoke service with updates suited to their needs, and who want to get the deal done with as little fuss as possible.