Insurers limit flood cover for homes

INSURERS are restricting the number of homes they are offering flood cover to as the industry paid out in Europe €1 billion in the last 14 months on weather-related incidents.

Two major incidents of flooding has resulted in insurance firms taking a more cautious view on offering cover. Many homeowners are finding it very difficult to secure flood cover from any firm.

Brian McNelis of the Irish Brokers Association said insurance firms base their quotes on a map of a city or town and certain homes would be marked in flood zones even though the house could be “10 feet above the river”.