Written question asked by Ian Liddell-Grainger (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 September 2004. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Thursday, 9 September 2004 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) homes and (b) farm holdings have been unable to obtain insurance policies against flood damage in the last year for which statistics are available; and if she will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) homes and (b) farm holdings have been unable to obtain insurance policies against flood damage in the last year for which statistics are available; and if she will make a statement. [186685] Mr. Morley: Firm statistics will not be available from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) until later this year. Initial indications from the ABI are that insurers are maintaining cover for homeowners in high flood risk areas in all but a handful of cases. The ABI are not aware of any instances where renewal has been refused on farm holdings. Farm buildings in general do not tend to have flood insurance due to the nature of their construction and lack of foundations.

Secondary information