This item is posted for those residents who have fallen victim to the dreadful experience of flooding and may have missed the article in last week's Sunday Times.
A long-awaited scheme to help home-owners in flood-prone areas obtain affordable insurance started last week - but not all providers are telling customers they could save thousands by switching to a new deal, and they may even have to pay a penalty to access the low-cost scheme.
The Sunday Times investigation which followed three families and spoke to dozens of insurers, found that policyholders - who may have paid eye-watering insurance bills, or even survived for several years without cover at all - must be proactive to take advantage of the new "Flood Re" scheme. By shopping around, some customers can cut annual premiums from £3000 to just £400,
About 350,000 households nationally could benefit from the Flood Re scheme, which creates a pot of money that insurers can draw on to cover flood damage claims. The scheme, a "world first", finally launched on April 4th after being announced in 2013. Excesses can be cut from anything up to £25,000 to just £250. To be eligible, the homeowner must live in the property (buy-to-lets and businesses are excluded), and it must have been built before January 1, 2009.