Insurers call for traffic-light flood risk info on property adverts

Homeowners should be told upfront how high is the possibility of flooding at prospective properties

Many areas o the Uk are facing flood risks (Stephen Huntley)

Homebuyers should be given more up-front information about a property’s flood risk, according to the Association of British Insurers. It wants property websites and adverts to traffic-light flood risk.

At present no property search websites include crucial flood risk information for the location of properties they list. Instead they data on such things as school catchment areas to most commonly read newspapers in the area. The ABI also found a lack of flood risk information on brochures for new build properties.

ABI Director General Huw Evans said: “Flooding can ruin a home, destroying valuable possessions and often force you to move out while repairs are made. At the moment, information on whether a property is at risk of flooding comes too late, often when people have already invested money in conveyancing.”

The ABI will set out three key steps at its Biennial Conference on Tuesday to improve awareness of flood risk as part of the home buying process:

· Estate agents and property search websites to automatically provide traffic-light style information indicating flood risk for the locations of the homes they list. This should be based on publicly available Environment Agency data. A new survey found more than 9 out of 10 people support the idea.

· Flood risk information should also be provided in the marketing for new build properties. Research of sales material in 50 of the highest flood risk areas in England and Wales, many of which have been hit by serious flooding in recent years, found none included any warnings about flood risk.

· All solicitors and conveyancers need to follow the Law Society’s guidance to conduct specific searches for flood risk, and to arrange for an in-depth assessment by a technical expert if there is any flood risk to the property.

The proposals are in line with a recommendation from the Pitt Review into the 2007 floods, that people buying a property should have access to up-front flood risk information. This information would not be a definitive guide to flood risk on an individual property but would be a very good indication of where further investigations could be necessary.

The ABI is also publishing a new house hunters’ guide to advise people of the steps they should take in the meantime to stay informed about the flood risk of properties they are considering.