Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • January 2013
01

Met Office rain figures 'show flood insurance deal is vital'

Open-access content Friday 4th January 2013 — updated 5.13pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

Official figures, which revealed that 2012 was the second wettest year in the UK since records began, show how big a concern flood risk is for insurers, according to Deloitte.

2

Provisional Met Office data published yesterday showed that last year saw 1330.7mm of rainfall in the UK, just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000. Last year was the wettest year on record for England, the third wettest for Wales, 17th wettest for Scotland and 40th wettest for Northern Ireland.

For the UK as a whole, four of the five wettest years since national records began in 1910 have occurred since 2000, leading the Met Office to state that preliminary evidence suggests the UK may be getting slightly more rain in total and it may be falling in more intense bursts.

David Hindley, insurance partner at Deloitte, said the figures served as a further reminder of the impact flood risk could have on the insurance industry. 'Insurers will have to consider whether their flood risk data and models are detailed enough to make effective pricing and underwriting decisions for individual properties,' he said.

Last month, consultancy Aon Benfield put the cost of flood losses to insurers last year at £1bn and Hindley said the Met Office data also showed the importance of agreement being reached on a new deal to provide affordable insurance for households at high-risk of flooding.

'Flooding can produce very significant claims for insurers and it is not surprising that one of the biggest concerns for household insurers is the fact that the government and insurance industry have not yet agreed a mechanism for continuing to provide affordable flood insurance for high-risk households once the current agreement expires in mid-2013. If an agreement is not reached, people in high-risk areas will find it difficult to find affordable flood cover.'

In November, the Association of British Insurers warned that talks with government over a successor to the soon-to-expire Statement of Principles had reached an 'impasse'. This week it was reported that discussions between the two parties had resumed

Comments:

The rainfall totals indicate a correlation with climate change predictions and yes do cause a concern over the future of flood insurance. However the issues under consideration need to be cast wider to include water-cycle (drought-flood), built-environment/planning and behaviour
Gavin George, Director, Aquobex Limited


This article appeared in our January 2013 issue of The Actuary.
Click here to view this issue
Filed in
01
Topics
Environment

You might also like...

Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Catastrophe Modelling Analyst - London Market Broker

London, England
£40000 - £50000 per annum
Reference
145925

Senior Catastrophe Analyst

England, London
£65000 - £75000 per annum
Reference
145924

Life Actuary - Financial Reporting - Day Rate contract

Negotiable
Reference
145923
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ