AA Insurance has warned the government that cutting spending on flood defences across the UK could have devastating consequences. The company has warned that if the government goes ahead with its plans, then hundreds of thousands of homes may not be able to be covered by any insurance provider.
The government is considering cutting flood defences as part of its Comprehensive Spending Review. However, the AA wants it to think very carefully about this particular idea. Indeed, rather than cutting expenses, the AA wants the government to increase spending.
Simon Douglas, the director of AA Insurance, said that if flood defence spending is cut, many people won’t be able to get a mortgage on a property because they will not be able to take out insurance.
He also made it clear that it wasn’t just the people living in properties at risk of flooding who would suffer; premiums would go up across the country, so everyone would be forced to pay more.
Douglas made the comments in an open letter to Caroline Spelman, the environment secretary. He painted a stark picture of the possible effects of cutting spending, stating that “millions of people are at risk of inundation from overflowing rivers, coasts and estuaries” when we experience weather extremes, adding that the risk is “increasing all the time”.
Home insurance providers are currently signed up to the Statement of Principles, which means that they have agreed to offer cover to existing customers up to 2013, as long as flood risk is still being managed properly.
If the situation changes and flooding becomes too much of a risk, things could start to look very bleak indeed.
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