Are you prepared for flooding?

With flooding expected across the UK, it’s important to take precautions to keep your family and assets safe. To help you get prepared over this period, we’ve compiled proactive and emergency checklists to consider when preparing for potential flooding.

Before a flood

• Move everything you can upstairs
• Prepare a flood kit, including important documents such as a torch, drinking water, medicine, baby care items and toys, mobile phone charger.
• Consider animal-care, where will they stay in a flood?
• Turn off electricity and water
• Lift curtains above rails
• Move your car away from a flood risk zone
• Make sure your phones and devices are fully charged.^[1]
• Consider temporary accommodation outside of high-risk flood areas

Emergency management

Some things you may want to consider in an emergency include:

• Move to higher ground
• Stay informed with regular flood updates and warnings
• Don’t try to move through flood waters
• Don’t attempt to travel by car through flooded areas – if you must, go slowly in first gear and keep your engine revs high. Check your brakes after. ^[2]

After a flood

• Don’t return to your home until it’s safe to do so
• Be wary of contaminated waters when cleaning up, wear suitable clothing and thoroughly disinfect affected surfaces.

While we hope that it won’t be needed, it’s wise to get to terms with your insurance details when flooding strikes. Make sure you’re aware of what you need to do and who you need to contact when it comes to making a claim, from gathering evidence to reporting, as this will be key to ensuring a swift and simple claims process. If you want any information on this, just get in touch with your usual Towergate advisor.

Taking a few simple precautions now can help prevent costly disruption to your home and car when floods hit.

How personal insurance can protect against flooding

It’s important to have the right insurance in place, so you’re protected if the worst happens. This will help to protect your assets against a wide range of adverse weather risks.

At Towergate, we offer policies for a wide range of properties and vehicles, taking a tailored approach to ensure your policy fits your needs. For a no-obligation review of your existing cover or to talk to someone about arranging a new policy, just get in touch with your local Towergate team.

Flood Risk Insurance

Get a quote online or by telephoning 0344 892 1462 for cover for properties that are a flood risk or have been flooded in the past.

About the author

James Cooper is a respected industry leader with around 10 years' experience in the home and property insurance sector. He works across a broad range of insurance product and policy development and delivery, including product development; customer sales and marketing; and P&L accountability.

Sources

[1] gov.uk/government/publications/personal-flood-plan/personal-flood-plan

[2] driving.org/water-damager-warning-vehicle-expert-reveals-how-to-keep-your-car-safe

Consistent with our policy when giving comments and advice on a non-specific basis, we cannot assume legal responsibility for the accuracy of any particular statement. In the case of specific problems, we recommend that professional advice be sought.