Insurers are facing mounting concerns about whether householders and businesses in high-risk flooding areas will be able to take out insurance at a reasonable cost from next year.
Following days of deluge, questions are being asked about what will happen when existing arrangements which ensure most households in flood-risk areas are able to get cover ends in less than a year.
In a press release on 24 September, Simon Douglas, director of AA, Insurance explained: "There are 200,000 UK homes at serious flood risk and 2.4 million homes at some risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The majority of them have been able to insure their homes thanks to the agreement, but that ends on 30 June next year.
"There's little sign yet of a replacement. These families must be wondering whether they will be able to find affordable insurance from that date and I'm concerned at the apparent lack of progress."
The typical cost of repairing and refurbishing a flooded property is around £20,000, Douglas added.
Businesses are also at risk; Barclays has said it will offer a package of assistance for business customers, which includes capital repayment holidays of up to three months on loans and the opportunity to extend or increase existing overdraft arrangements.
A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers told Press Association that "constructive discussions" are continuing with the government to find ways to keep insurance covering higher-risk areas affordable and available
And a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the insurance industry and the Government have made "great progress".
He said: "We are now considering a cross-subsidy mechanism that would ensure high-risk households can get affordable insurance without extra costs being placed on policyholders or taxpayers.
"The best and most sustainable way of keeping insurance affordable in the long term is to help prevent flooding in the first place.
"We are spending more than £2.1bn on flood risk management and are on course to exceed our goal to better protect 145,000 homes by March 2015."
There could also be a knock-on effect on the housing market; the Council of Mortgage Lenders warned earlier this year that a lack of affordable flood insurance could lead to borrowers being unable to get cover, which would breach the terms of their mortgage.
The issue of insurance availability has taken on a greater significance since 2000 when heavy rainfall flooded 10,000 properties, leading to industry costs which topped £1bn.
Discussions led to an agreement on a "statement of principles" for the insurance market, under which customers living in flood-prone areas have continued to obtain cover.
Insurers agreed to continue to provide flooding cover to most homes, while the government undertook to invest more in improving flood defences.
Most insurance companies already raise small sums from policyholders to cover the cost of insuring homes at high risk of flooding, but they now want the government to formalise this arrangement.
The most common types of flood or storm claims, according to Barclays, are:
- Roof tiles blown off, often in conjunction with damage to gutters, fascias, etc
- Damaged TV/radio aerials
- Breakage of glass - most often greenhouse glass
- Lifting of roofing felt, particularly on sheds
- Damage to chimneys
- Trees falling down and damaging buildings
- Boundary walls blown down
- Water damage to house and contents