Norwich Union welcomes the increased £150m funding for flood defences by 2005/06, announced by the Chancellor in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Norwich Union welcomes the increased Ł150m funding for flood defences by 2005/06, announced by the Chancellor in the Comprehensive Spending Review.
In its initial response to the Review, the insurer also welcomes the commitment to streamline administrative arrangements for flood defences – one of the issues, which Norwich Union has been campaigning about for several months.
In addition to funding, Norwich Union continues to call for:
- A robust integrated plan for the UK to combat all major sources of flooding
- Enforcement of planning regulations
- Flood defences set at realistic levels of protection, particularly for new buildings
- Re-evaluation of the criteria used to identify which areas receive flood defences – taking into account all impacts of flooding
Commenting on the announcement, Nick Pierson, head of household products, Norwich Union, said: “The additional funding announced today is a step in the right direction - however, spending on defences alone will not tackle the problem of flooding. This is a complex issue, where not only funding, but organisation, prioritisation and land use management need to be overhauled to help reduce the problem.
“Unfortunately for some communities, flood is no longer a risk but a certainty and insurance can only go some way to compensate for the loss and trauma involved. Depending on the severity of the flood, between half a million and two million homes are at risk, which is why more action is needed.
“Sadly, despite this funding, it will still not be possible to protect all communities and consequently, some homeowners may still find it harder to get flood cover.
“We’ve been talking to representatives of central and local government to help highlight the important role that they play in enforcing planning guidelines. In particular, we would like to see fewer applications being granted for new buildings on flood plains and more realistic levels of flood defences for these properties.”
Peter Barnett, chairman of the National Flood Forum, commented: “The spending announced today is welcome news for those living and working in flood risk areas. However, we know from experience that other actions - such as preventing building on flood plains, and residents working closely with local authorities and the Environment Agency – are also important to help minimise the impact of flooding.
“Many local communities have already established flood action groups, which have helped to bring about change in their area. We would encourage anyone living within high-risk areas to continue working in co-operation with agencies at local and national level in making their community more resilient to flooding.”
Norwich Union will be considering the Review in detail to understand how this money will be allocated to the most vulnerable communities, and its implications for the insurance industry over the next few months.
Media contact: Liz Kennett at Norwich Union on 08703 66 68 63 (out of hours – 07801 901666).
To contact the National Flood Forum, call Gill Holland on 01299 403955 (e-mail – gill.holland@floodforum.org.uk).
Notes to editors:
Norwich Union has been involved in a number of initiatives to help find solutions to problems of flooding. For example, the insurer has commissioned a digital map of Britain to help pinpoint and understand exactly which areas of the country are at risk from river flooding. The map will be used to provide more accurate premiums for individual homes and businesses according to their risk of flood. Commenting on the mapping project, Elliott Morley, in the House of Commons said, “I am very impressed with the work that Norwich Union is doing on digital mapping, which is much more accurate.”
Norwich Union recently attended the Local Government Association’s Annual Conference in Bournemouth and was also involved in the establishment of an Associate All Party Parliamentary Group on flooding, which met for the first time on 2 July.
The cost to ‘UK plc’ of the autumn 2000 floods was over one billion pounds. Nearly two million homes (equivalent to the entire population of the South West of England) and 130,000 commercial properties, worth over Ł200 billion, are at risk from flooding, (DEFRA 2001). Over one million hectares of farming land, worth a further Ł7 billion, are also at risk (MAFF July 2000).
Norwich Union is the UK’s largest insurer. In general insurance it is more than 1.5 times the size of its nearest competitor and has a 19 per cent share of the market.
It has a focus on insurance for individuals and small businesses. It insures:
- one in five households
- one in five motor vehicles
- more than 700,000 businesses
Norwich Union products are available through a variety of distribution channels including brokers, corporate partners such as banks and building societies, and Norwich Union Direct.
- Norwich Union's news releases are available on the internet at www.aviva.com
- A selection of images are available from the Aviva Newscast site at www.newscast.co.uk
For all life & pensions media enquiries 08703 66 68 73 For all other media enquiries 08703 66 68 68
More information about the National Flood Forum is available at http://www.floodforum.org.uk/