moneysupermarket.com comments on the flooding chaos in Yorkshire

Commenting on the flooding chaos in Yorkshire, Richard Mason, director of insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said:

"If you are unfortunate enough to have been hit by today's flooding, you may need to claim on both your home contents and buildings policy.

Fixtures such as fireplaces and electric lights, which you may have thought would be covered under a buildings policy, will usually fall under home contents.

"In some cases, if the potential claim on one or other policy is small, it may be more prudent not to claim against it.

Not claiming may be wiser for two reasons: firstly the excess may be not worth paying and secondly the claim may result in a large increase in your premiums.

"If you are house-hunting and are concerned about flood risk, providers such as Norwich Union and More Th>n have mapping systems pinpointing which houses are most at risk in those areas.

The Environment Agency's new flood maps indicate an additional 300,000 homes in England and Wales are now at risk of flooding (there is a link to these maps on www.moneysupermarket.com/home/).

"Homeowners living in flood risk areas need to be more rigorous than others when it comes to insurance.

They need to check the exact details of what their buildings and contents policies cover as well as the limits and excesses on both.

My advice to those living in flood risk areas is to get a policy sooner rather than later because insurers are less likely to withdraw cover if your situation deteriorates.".

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