Insurance in flooded homes

Clarabel

I'm a little confused about how home insurance works. It was my understanding that if a policy was accepted that the insurance company were taking on the risk. However following a conversation with a broker this morning it seems even if you are not aware of previous flooding if it is not declared then the insurance is invalid and they won't pay out.

How this came about is I am looking to purchase a property in a area that I suspect was flooded last year but the estate agent either won;t tell me if it was flooded or is lying to me.

The insurance company has said that it is my responsibility to find out and even if I do not know about previous flooding and the mortgage surveyor doesn't pick it up that if a claim for water damage is made and it then comes up in the register that a previous claim has been made it will not be paid out.

Is this correct? How can I protect myself from this? The OPW flood report is not always accurate.

mitosis

Sadly, the insurance company are right. If you are really interested you need to talk to some locals, the local Council - who will have had to do any cleanup - or post the general area on Boards and ask if it's been flooded.

mcbert

Hmmm, just stumbled onto this thread. I was about to ring a few insurance companies to see if a particular house that is on sale is considered a flood risk, if elevated premiums, or maybe if flood damage is excluded.

So what does it mean to 'come up in the register'? Can they not tell you in advance that a claim for flood damage was made in the past instead of waiting for you to make a claim which is then denied.

Looking at floodrisk.ie, and googling a bit, it seems the house I'm thinking of was flooded by Hurricane Charlie in '86, but recent floods were not a problem, although houses were affected nearby.

Do insurance companies just play ignorant, shift the responsibility entirely to the owner? Surely they have detailed maps of flood claims, and know in advance where is high risk?

ABajaninCork

They do, but always shift the onus on to the policyholder. It's in your own interest to make sure the property isn't in a risk area, sadly.

mcbert

ABajaninCork wrote: »

They do, but always shift the onus on to the policyholder. It's in your own interest to make sure the property isn't in a risk area, sadly.

True.

I looked at more detailed OPW maps, and they put the address I'm looking at right on the border between areas of 1/100 & 1/1000 chance of a flooding event in any one year.

I might be willing to take that risk, if I got it for the right price, but I wonder would an insurance company raise premiums? I know, I'd really need to ring around...

Raytown Rocks

Hi Clarabel

I Had the same issue recently in insuring my own house.
The insurance company had me covered for flood damge last year, however during the year they changed their underwriters and they would not insure me for flood on renewal. ( Actually only read it on the policy renewal, they didnt tell me)
I also live in a designated flood risk area despite the fact my house has never been flooded.
I actually could not get quotes even, from most insurance companies due to my location.
Eventually I had to go with the same insurance company but now I have no flood protection

To say I was pissed off was an understatement, and on numerous calls to the Insurance company I explained they had changed their underwriters and thus affected me through no fault of my own, this fell on deaf ears.

I also explained that i would not have moved to them in the first place had they informed me of their future move of underwriters, again made no differenece to them.
Insuarnce Ombudsman was also contacted who did bugger all and said that they are within their rights.

the_syco

mcbert wrote: »

Do insurance companies just play ignorant, shift the responsibility entirely to the owner? Surely they have detailed maps of flood claims, and know in advance where is high risk?

I'm thinking that they don't look for the risk until someone actually tries to insure with them?

Henry Ford III

chef wrote: »

...I also explained that i would not have moved to them in the first place had they informed me of their future move of underwriters, again made no differenece to them....

To be fair they might not have known about the change, nor the new underwriters exclusions.

jd

mcbert wrote: »

True.

I looked at more detailed OPW maps, and they put the address I'm looking at right on the border between areas of 1/100 & 1/1000 chance of a flooding event in any one year.

Are these the maps you would look at?
http://www.floodmaps.ie/

Raytown Rocks

Henry Ford III wrote: »

To be fair they might not have known about the change, nor the new underwriters exclusions.

Maybe not, but that said why should I as their customer suffer becuase of the changes they made. They should have honoured their exisiting customers with the same ongoing insurance. Well thats what i think anyway.

Victor

chef wrote: »

Maybe not, but that said why should I as their customer suffer becuase of the changes they made. They should have honoured their exisiting customers with the same ongoing insurance. Well thats what i think anyway.

Risks and the assessment of them evolve.

Raytown Rocks

Victor wrote: »

Risks and the assessment of them evolve.

Despite the fact that the govt. Spent millions on flood protection in the area of the dodder. The local council even sent out letterrs to residents explaining the works had been completed and how much the risk had been removed.

mcbert

jd wrote: »

Are these the maps you would look at?
http://www.floodmaps.ie/

I looked there, but there is also a detailed study, with nice maps here. There are several pdf maps at the end of the page under the Relevant Reports -> Flood Maps section.

http://www.dublincity.ie/WATERWASTEENVIRONMENT/WATERPROJECTS/Pages/RiverDodderCatchmentFloodRiskAssessmentManagementStudy.aspx