New commercial flood cover launched in UK backed by Lloyd’s
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has launched of a new commercial insurance scheme for businesses that will also include flood cover for many commercial premises and let properties located in areas at risk from flooding.
BIBA entered into detailed and constructive liaison with insurance market stakeholders including flood risk specialists Landmark, broker Guy Carpenter and scheme provider and managing general agent, R&Q Commercial Risk Services to create the scheme.
It said this co-operation has brought to market an innovative product for BIBA members that will both help them meet the usual commercial insurance needs of their small and medium sized clients (SMEs) and provide flood cover for many businesses risks that are ineligible for Flood Re, the not for profit scheme launched this year which enables households at risk of flooding to access insurance.
The commercial scheme backed by the A+ rated security of Lloyd’s underwriting capacity uses an advanced mapping facility developed by Landmark which pin-points exactly the location and features of an individual property. Having this degree of specific and detailed risk reflective information allows each individual business or property to have insurance that is based on its own specific risk.
Innovatively, the scheme also offers a high degree of customer choice giving the option to ‘buy-back’ any flood excess that is applied because of the business location meaning customers can choose the amount of risk they want to bear themselves.
Steve White, BIBA CEO, said: “BIBA invested time in finding what our members needed to provide to business clients. We have been working closely with Government Ministers and their teams in relation to flood cover for some time. They were as keen as our members for us to find a solution for businesses struggling to access flood insurance. We are delighted that this scheme will now be able to provide protection for many of the businesses that have not been able to buy cover against flood damage.”
Floods Minister, Thérèse Coffey said: “One year after last December’s floods it’s great to see the insurance industry now able to provide affordable flood insurance for small businesses and I particularly welcome BIBA’s emphasis on helping customers adopt flood resilience measures so businesses get back in their properties and open sooner.
“This strongly builds on the Government’s broader commitment to tackle flooding, with £2.5 billion being invested in flood defences until 2021, to better protect 300,000 properties across the country.”
Graeme Trudgill, Executive Director at BIBA concluded: “This policy, with state of the art mapping technology sitting behind it, and recognition of resilience and resistance measures already in place, will be simple to use and fair. It brings the ability to cover the majority of SMEs and leasehold and let properties in flood risk areas and for those risks attracting higher excesses an opportunity to buy this back. If a flood does occur, claims cost neutral repairs can be made including resilience measures that will allow business customers to get up and running more quickly if another flood occurs.”
