Cost of clean-up after February storms and flooding will top £360m, insurers say

Weeks of heavy rain and back-to-back storms Ciara and Dennis left swathes of the UK underwater

The clean-up bill following two storms that caused widespread flooding and damage in the UK last month will exceed £360m, according to insurers.

Insurance firms expect to pay out £214m to families, businesses and motorists affected by some of the worst floods seen in 200 years in the wake of storms Chiara and Dennis.

An estimated £149m will also be claimed to repair damage caused by wind, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said, bringing the total costs to £363m.

Thousands of families were forced to abandon their homes after weeks of heavy rain and back-to-back storms left swathes of the UK underwater in February.

The last time that several storms of such force struck in quick succession was in December 2015, when Desmond, Eva and Frank caused £1.3bn of damage.

Flooding in parts of south Yorkshire and the Midlands in November last year is estimated to have cost more than £110m.

The ABI said insurers distributed £7.7m in emergency payments to home owners and businesses in the immediate aftermath of last month’s storms, including paying for temporary accommodation when homes were uninhabitable.

The average household flood claim is estimated to have been £32,000.

Payments included 3,350 domestic-property flood claims, totalling an estimated £107m; 1,500 commercial-property flood claims at £85m; and 3,600 motor claims amounting to £21.7m.

For wind damage, there have been 61,000 domestic property claims, totalling £77m; 9,000 commercial property claims, put at £61m; and 3,500 motor claims, with a bill of £11m.

Mark Shepherd, the ABI’s head of general insurance policy, said: “Insurers’ first priority when bad weather strikes is always to help customers recover from the traumatic experience as quickly as possible.

“With some properties still under water, making emergency payments and arranging emergency alternative temporary accommodation or trading premises is very much a live issue.

“When the flood waters recede, the hard work begins. Insurers and loss adjusters will continue working around the clock to ensure homes and businesses are fully dried out, so that repairs can start as soon as possible, and people can get their lives back together.”

Several insurers have recently outlined how winter flood claims have affected their business.

Earlier this week, insurance giant Aviva said it faced a £70m bill so far from the recent UK storms.

The firm received weather-related calls from 13,000 customers and said it was “responding quickly by helping fix damaged properties and using the latest technology to settle claims”.

Direct Line Group said the storms were set to cost it at least £35m.

Admiral has put its storm costs at £14m so far this year, with some of its own staff suffering flood damage in Wales.

However, the company said that after help from the government’s flood refund scheme, the claims were likely to cost it between about £4m and £5m.

Boris Johnson faced criticism for refusing to visit flood-stricken parts of the UK, with the prime minister insisting his presence would be a “distraction” to rescue and recovery teams.

Scientists have warned that climate change will make heavy downpours and flooding more likely in the future.