Andy Bord, Chief Executive Officer of Flood Re, the UK government backed flood insurer, has called for a review on how policies and flood models are managed.
He believes that a more all-encompassing approach to flood risk management will become more effective flood defences and into the wider built environment.
Controlling flood risks in the UK has been a reoccurring topic for re/insurers, especially as the majority are now deliberating how they can manage them.
Flood Re and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter have been collaborating on enhancing flood planning whilst coordinating with other insurers.
Guy Carpenter and Flood Re recently partook in a webinar with the focus of enhanced planning whilst collaborating with other insurers in order for the industry to build upon its flood resilience.
Bord said: “Over the next 30 years, climate change will increase UK annual flood losses by up to 80 percent. Whilst £1.1 billion a year of flood damage is being prevented by the UK’s existing network of river barriers and coastal defences, it is not enough to just build higher defences to hold back the water.
“We need to learn to adapt.” Bord said, adding that it is critical that flood considerations are prioritised when making planning decisions and developing new homes or retrofitting existing homes. Such considerations are also central for householders at high risk of flooding.
He continued: “By taking action now I believe we can adapt and ‘build back better’, an approach we have been advocating for over four years. This is what must happen to ensure the built environment is more prepared for and resilient to future flooding.”
Julie Foley, Director of Flood Risk Strategy and National Adaptation at the Environment Agency highlighted the steps currently being taken by the agency to boost flood resilience.
Foley warned: “Fundamentally, we need to get better at planning and adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
“We are updating our guidance so that all new flood and coastal defences in England are designed to account for a range of climate impacts, including from a 4°C rise in global temperature by 2100. We are also refreshing our strategic approach to tidal flood risk management for London and the Thames Estuary to the end of the century.”
It is clear from what each spokesman explained, that recovery plans from reinsurers must be introduced to provide a more sustainable and economically viable approach to resilience across the UK.
