Is It True That Home Insurance Covers Flood Damage?

Key things to know

1. Standard UK home insurance policies normally include flood cover; the real questions are the price, the excess and whether your property qualifies for Flood Re.
2. Flood Re is a joint industry and government reinsurance scheme, funded by a levy on insurers, that helps high-risk homes get affordable flood cover and is due to end in 2039.
3. Flood Re covers homes built before 1 January 2009 in Council Tax bands A to H, but not commercial properties, buy-to-let homes or leasehold blocks of four or more flats.
4. Flood claims on policies passed to Flood Re carry a fixed £250 excess, and premiums vary by Council Tax band, but your insurer sets the final price.
5. Groundwater flooding is covered when water enters from outside with substantial force, but gradual seepage such as rising damp is not.

Flooding is one of the costliest things that can happen to a home, and one of the most misunderstood areas of insurance. Some homeowners assume no policy pays for flood damage, while others assume every home can get cover on demand. Neither belief holds up. Here is what the rules actually say.

Myth: No Home Policy Covers Flooding at All

Flood cover is not a specialist extra. Standard home insurance in the UK normally includes flood damage within buildings or combined cover. The historic problem was availability and price: households in high-risk areas could face premiums running into thousands of pounds, or find no insurer willing to quote at all. Closing that gap is the job of Flood Re, a joint industry and government scheme in operation since April 2016.

Fact: What Buildings Cover Usually Pays After a Flood

Buildings cover is about the structure. After a flood, a buildings claim typically pays for drying the property out and repairing or rebuilding damaged walls, floors and permanent fixtures, along with work needed to make the home safe. Your insurer manages the whole claim, and you never deal with Flood Re directly, even when it reinsures your policy behind the scenes. If you are unsure where buildings cover stops and contents cover starts, our guide to buildings versus contents insurance walks through the split.

Fact: What Contents Cover Pays, and What It Often Skips

Contents cover is for the things you own: furniture, clothing, electronics and the rest. A contents claim after a flood pays for damaged belongings, but the fine print is where surprises live. Some policies treat items kept in basements or cellars differently, and property outside the building, such as fences or sheds, may be handled under different terms, so read the policy rather than assuming.

Two figures matter at claim time. The first is the excess, the amount you contribute to each claim, and flood claims often carry a flood excess of their own. The second is the sum insured: if yours was set years ago and prices have moved, a payout can fall short of the real cost of replacing what you lost. Our article on underinsurance and why claims fall short explains how that happens.

Myth: Every Home Can Get Flood Cover Easily

Not every property qualifies, and the criteria tell you whether yours is in the protected group. To be eligible for Flood Re, a property must meet all of the following:

• It is in the UK, meaning England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
• It sits in Council Tax band A to H, or the equivalent.
• It is used for private residential purposes and is a single residential unit, or a building of two or three units.
• It was built before 1 January 2009. A pre-2009 home that is demolished and rebuilt stays eligible, but new-builds do not qualify.
• The policy is held by an individual, carries an individual premium, and the holder or their immediate family lives there some or all of the time, or the home is unoccupied.

Some properties fall outside the scheme entirely, including commercial premises, buy-to-let homes and static caravans. Flats in leasehold blocks of four or more homes are excluded too, though individual flat owners can still insure their own flat, and where a building cannot be covered, insurers may still place the contents element of a policy with Flood Re.

Fact: How Flood Re Keeps Cover Affordable for High-Risk Homes

Flood Re is a reinsurance scheme, which means it insures the insurers. When an eligible household claims for flood damage, the insurer can pass the flood risk element of that policy to Flood Re, which is funded by a levy across the industry. The scheme was designed to give up to half a million high-risk households access to affordable flood insurance.

Flood Re charges insurers premiums that vary by the property’s Council Tax band, so lower-banded homes cost less to cover, and flood claims on policies passed to the scheme carry a fixed excess of £250 per claim. At the scheme’s launch, flood cover for the highest-risk homes started at £210 for Council Tax band A.

Three practical points follow. Insurers choose whether to use Flood Re for a given policy and set your final price, so it pays to shop around. The scheme is transitional and due to end in 2039, when the market is meant to price flood risk directly. Many participating insurers also offer Build Back Better, which builds resilience measures, such as flood-resistant kitchens or barriers, into flood repairs, with one participating insurer citing measures worth up to £10,000.

Check your policy: Flood Re never deals with households directly. You buy and claim in the usual way, and your insurer handles everything and sets the price.

What to Check About Flood Risk Before You Buy or Renew

A few checks will tell you where you stand:

• Check your flood risk. The Check Your Flood Risk service covers risks such as rivers and surface water, and Flood Re is piloting Flood Performance Certificates in England to give homes a standardised view of flood risk and resilience.
• Use the Flood Re Tool. It gives a general guide to whether your property might qualify, without asking for personal details, though the decision rests with your insurer.
• Check the build date for a new home. Properties built since 2009 cannot be placed with Flood Re, so cover for a new-build in a flood-risk area depends on what an insurer offers directly.
• Recheck the details at renewal. Terms, prices and risk assessments can all change between policies, so our home insurance renewal checklist is worth a pass before you pay.

Groundwater deserves a specific mention. Flood Re pays eligible claims when groundwater enters a home from outside with substantial and abnormal volume, weight or force, but not gradual seepage such as rising damp. If a flood does happen, our step-by-step guide to making an insurance claim sets out what to do next. Before you buy or renew, run the Flood Re Tool and read the flood terms of any policy.

Questions answered

Does home insurance cover flooding as standard?
Most standard home policies in the UK include flood damage within the buildings or combined cover. The difficulty for high-risk homes has historically been finding cover at an affordable price, which is what Flood Re was created to address.

What is Flood Re and do I apply for it?
Flood Re is a joint industry and government reinsurance scheme. You never apply to it or deal with it directly; your insurer decides whether to pass the flood risk of your policy to it behind the scenes.

Are new-build homes eligible for Flood Re?
No. Properties must have been built before 1 January 2009 to be placed with Flood Re, although a pre-2009 home that is demolished and rebuilt remains eligible.

Will Flood Re cover rising damp?
No. Groundwater flooding is covered when water enters the home from outside with substantial and abnormal volume, weight or force, but gradual seepage such as rising damp is excluded.