Aviva has increased access to flood protection insurance for an additional 13,000 homes and businesses across the State following reforms to its “extremely granular” flood risk map, the insurer said.
The enhancement comes two months after the Government established its Flood Insurance Protection Gap Working Group, of which Aviva, one of the largest general insurance providers in the Irish market, is a member.
This move “is a positive example of the progress being made through investment in flood protection measures, improved understanding of risk and greater collaboration across stakeholders,” said Joanie Hughes, managing director of personal lines at Aviva.
Julie Frazer, head of product, underwriting and intermediary within the personal lines division, said Aviva was “constantly updating its risk assessments” and “regularly reviews data” to do with flood risk.
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She said recent “severe weather events”, such as Storm Chandra and Storm Eowyn, “absolutely inform our decisions” on the matter.
The insurer has since updated its “extremely granular maps ... based on the probability of a flood event occurring” at any given property, she said.
The 13,000 additional properties are “very much widespread right across the country.
“Flood risk can be really localised”, with the rock type, hill incline, and proximity to a body of water all factors that can result in “one property being able to access flood protection and another one ‘just up the road’ not,” Frazer continued.
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“Needless to say, the flood protection gap is something we’re very conscious of and would like to help to close,” she went on, “it’s very much at the forefront of our minds.”
Market research conducted by 3Gem Research & Insights on behalf of Aviva “reveals growing awareness among homeowners of the risks posed by extreme weather”, the insurer said.
While it found one-in-10 homeowners have experienced flood damage in the past five years, 24 per cent have experienced “storm-related damage”, and 62 per cent are “concerned” of extreme-weather damage over the next five years.
“Despite high levels of awareness and concern, almost half of homeowners (46 per cent) have not made any improvements to protect their property from extreme weather over the past two years,” Aviva said.
Common actions taken include upgrading gutter systems, repairing roofs, purchasing emergency kits and improving drainage systems, the research of 1,000 homeowners found.
Aviva advised homeowners to inform themselves of weather warnings and local flood risks through alerts from Met Éireann and to consider implementing “practical reliance measures” such as flood barriers to their properties.
The Government established in August a flood insurance working group. Tánaiste Simon Harris said “it will bring together the key public and private sector stakeholders needed to identify practical solutions to one of the most challenging issues facing the insurance market”.
“We have been very much involved with this alongside all of our peers in the industry,” Frazer said. “We’re very determined to find a way to deal with the flood protection gap – we understand and appreciate the difficulties it can create for homeowners and business owners,” she said.
