Insurance soars after floods

INSURANCE premiums have soared in Uckfield following last winter s floods.

Factories, shops and businesses are reeling at the size of excesses demanded as policies come up for renewal.

One man has been asked for 1,000 to renew his contents insurance and another has been hit with a 200,000 excess, according to Chris Lawson of Lawson Commercial.

In addition people wanting to take on vacant factory units cannot find companies willling to insure them at all.

This is a major problem, said Mr Lawson. He told of another case where a company with a portfolio of businesses in Uckfield, Crowborough and Heathfield was landed with a blanket excess even for buildings which had never been flooded.

The insurance company quite clearly don t want the business because we have actually got quotes from other companies where the excess is higher where the risk of flooding is higher. That is the sensible approach.

This has to be put in perspective. Bell Lane was flooded for the first time in 30 years last year and statistically it is not likely to happen again, unlike places in the High Street which have been flooded on other occasions in the last five years, said Mr Lawson.

Mr Adrian Corbin, chair of Uckfield Chamber of Commerce, said the organisation was taking the matter up with Wealden MP Mr Charles Hendry who had offered to help. This is a problem for the Government and the whole country, not just Uckfield. If business can t get insurance there is no commercial rate, if there is no commercial rate the Government is losing out. If there are no businesses there is no employment therefore there is no National Insurance and tax.

Mr Corbin said there were a number of different types of businesses in Uckfield, some of which had experienced flooding and some of which were in no danger of flooding, having excessive increases in premium. You can t be in business and not be properly insured. This could blight whole areas and something needs to be done about it, he said.

Mr Malcolm Tarling a spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: Insurers want to continue to provide flood cover to people in high risk areas. Having said that they have got to ensure terms and conditions and the premiums set reflect the risk. At the moment there is an increased risk of flooding, more and more areas are vulnerable and the experts tell us that the risk will get worse in the future.

Mr Tarling said the association was continuing talks with the Government to enable insurers to provide cover people could afford. They were seeking better targeted investment in flood defences to ensure that flood defences in vulnerable areas were brought up to scratch and they wanted better enf rcement guidelines to prevent new properties, domestic and commercial, being build on flood plains.

Defence options for Uckfield; MP calls for swifter acton: Page 11