Building new homes with simple package of flood resilience measures could save £60m over 10 years

“A simple package of flood resilience, costing £1,000, can be highly effective, particularly in new homes that are built in areas of surface water flooding.  

“However, the benefits go far beyond cost. As the largest UK home insurer, we experience first-hand the impacts that flooding can have on people if they need to move out of their home to allow their property to dry out and be repaired safely. At best it is disruptive, but it can also be deeply upsetting, particularly when the average length of time away from home is nine months. 

“Installing property flood resilience from the outset can help avoid this disruption, allowing families to return to their homes much more quickly, or even allowing them to stay at home without the need to move out at all.” 

Strong support for property flood resilience 

Separate research by Aviva of 2,000 consumers,^[3] including 500 owners of homes that are less than five years old, found there is strong support for resilience to be incorporated into homes.  

Over half (55%) of residents would be happy to pay an additional £1,000 on the price of a new home to include property flood resilience measures. This rises to almost three quarters (74%) for owners of homes built in the last five years. There is also overwhelming support for new homes to be built resiliently, with nearly three in four (73%) agreeing. 

Lack of understanding about the impacts of flooding 

Despite a third (34%) of residents believing their home is at risk from flooding, the research also shows that residents are unaware of the impact it can have. Many underestimate the amount of time they may need to live in temporary accommodation to allow their home to be repaired, should a flood occur. On average, residents believe they may need to leave their home for almost three months (2.79 months), when this is typically nine months. However, installing flood resilient measures can help to reduce this time.  

Storah adds; “Our climate is changing and so too must the way we manage flood risk. As we experience changing weather patterns, we should think differently. We need to accept that living with water will be a reality for some and building resilient new homes should be a key part of getting ready for the future. 

“As the development of new homes progresses, the benefits of flood resilience will become greater, and it is vital that planning and building regulations change with our climate.” 

Aviva support for property flood resilience

Aviva is supporting homeowners with property flood resilience measures and earlier this year introduced the Resilico Connect app to home insurance customers whose homes have been identified as being at high risk of flooding. The app allows customers to sign up for flood alerts and provides practical advice to help protect homes and possessions.  

The insurer has been offering Build Back Better since July 2023. It provides additional property flood resilience measures of up to £10K for any customers with a flood claim over £25,000. Aviva has supported almost 500 customers with Build Back Better claims. 

Ends
 

Additional information

Aviva is supporting wider approaches to climate adaptation and resilience including pledging around £80 million to nature restoration projects across the UK. It is also working through the FloodAction Coalition to help accelerate action on flood resilience. This reflects a broader approach to help protect communities across the UK. 

Aviva has developed a policy paper that provides a summary of the case for making UK homes more flood resilient.

References

^1. _{Modelled estimates. The methodology involved:}

• _{Identifying homes at risk of surface water flooding (and therefore excludes river and coastal flooding risk) per Aviva February 2026 Building Future Communities and splitting these into (i) medium/high and (ii) any risk.}  
• _{Average flood risk assumed of 2% for (i) medium/high (EA classification is above 1% for medium, above 3% for high) and assumed 0.5% for (ii) any risk.}  
• _{Average flood claim figure of £32,000 used in line with industry averages.}  
• _{Average property value for England and Wales uses the £292,000 figure for October 2025, published by HMLR.}  
• _{Average devaluation in property value of 8% used in line with the longer-term effect of flooding risk on property values  Does flood risk affect property prices? Evidence from a property-level flood score; Skouralis, Lux and Andrew (2024)} 
• _{PFR effectiveness used 50% as a central, conservative mid-point assumption in line with the Flood Re / University of the West of England (UWE) Evidence Review for Property Flood Resilience – Phase 2 Report.}  
• _{To calculate the 5 and 10 year figures the calculation used the Present Value factors required by the Governments Green Book methodology for calculating the cost benefit of policy proposals.}  
• _{For example to calculate the 10-year savings figure the annual savings (£7.24M) have been multiplied by  PV factor of 8.32} 
• _{The resulting figures represent the net present value of future flood damages and house value depreciation avoided by that year's cohort of homes over the 5 or 10 year appraisal period.} 
• _{Note: The modelling is illustrative and does not represent a formal impact assessment. [↑]}

^2. _{Does Flood Risk affect property prices, Skouralis, Lux and Andrew (2024). [↑]}

^3. _{The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,103 UK consumers (aged 16+). Minimum 500 homeowners whose homes have been built within the last 5 years. The data was collected between 29.05.2026 - 08.06.2026.  [↑]}

^4.  _{Proportion of new homes built in flood areas rises to one in nine - Aviva plc The data reveals that out of the 396,602 new homes recorded by the Ordnance Survey in England between 2022 - 2024,[1] 43,937 are in areas of medium or high risk of flooding. Over a quarter (26%), equivalent to 101,657, new homes have some risk of flooding. [↑]}
 

Enquiries

Liz Kennett
+44 (0) 7800 692 675
liz.kennett@aviva.com
 

Sid Varma
+44 (0) 73850 18944
sid.varma@aviva.com