Aviva Warns More New Homes Face Flood Insurance Risk

Residential properties currently under construction risk becoming uninsurable down the road due to mounting flood hazards, according to the chief executive of insurance giant Aviva. Amanda Blanc stated that the threat of flooding is escalating at a concerning pace across the region.

Based on current development trends, approximately 115,000 new homes are projected to be built within designated flood zones over the coming decade. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency estimates that roughly 6.3 million homes and businesses across England remain vulnerable to flooding. Aviva's internal research further highlights that one in every nine homes constructed between 2022 and 2024 faces a medium to high risk of flooding.

Blanc emphasized that construction practices bordering these vulnerable zones require a fundamentally different strategy. Property owners can implement various structural modifications to adjust their buildings' vulnerability against rising waters. According to Aviva's findings, nearly a third of newly built homes in 2024 will face some level of flooding by 2050, with one in seven expected to face medium to high risks as extreme weather intensifies.

"You can do all sorts of different things to your property to make it more or less vulnerable to flood."

Amanda Blanc

Earlier this year, the Met Office estimated that under current global warming trajectories, record-breaking wet winters—such as the one recorded across the UK in 2023-2024—have shifted from once-in-80-year occurrences to once-in-20-year events.