Homes currently under construction could become uninsurable in the future due to the escalating risk of flooding, according to Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of insurance giant Aviva.
Ms Blanc stated that the risk of flooding is "absolutely increasing". She noted that based on current building patterns, 115,000 new homes are expected to be built in flood zones in England over the next ten years. She questioned this approach, telling the BBC, "That doesn't seem to me to make sense. We need to think about where those homes are being built."
Environment Agency data indicates that approximately 6.3 million homes and businesses in England face flood risk. Aviva's own research found that one in nine homes constructed between 2022 and 2024 are at a medium to high risk of flooding. Ms Blanc also suggested that construction bordering flood zones requires a different strategy.
Further Aviva research suggests that nearly a third of new homes built in 2024 could be at risk of some flooding by 2050, with one in seven facing a medium to high risk as extreme weather intensifies. The Met Office previously estimated that record-breaking wet winters, like the one in the UK in 2023-2024, have become once in 20-year events, down from once in 80 years, due to current global warming levels.