Flood resilience installers in Wiltshire and Somerset, in numbers

A short history

Flood insurance in England has long rested on deals between government and insurers. Flood Re says the Government has worked with insurers since 2000 to make flood insurance more affordable. In 2016, an earlier arrangement, the Flood Insurance Statement of Principles, was replaced with a longer-term plan ¹.

Flood Re is a re-insurance scheme. It works through insurers, not directly with householders ¹. It is due to end in 2039. Flood Re says that after this there will be a free market for flood risk insurance ¹. Part 4 of the Water Act 2014 covers the flood reinsurance scheme and flood insurance obligations ².

Somerset has its own flood history. A Somerset flood action plan was published on 6 March 2014, drawn up by local partners including councils, MPs, businesses and residents ³. The plan included dredging 8km of the Rivers Parrett and Tone. It also proposed a new Somerset rivers board and ensuring new developments meet the highest standards for water and drainage ³.

What it costs

Defra announced on 21 September 2020 that property flood resilience grants of up to £5,000 were available for homes and businesses. The money could fund work such as flood doors and raising electrics ⁴. Councils ran the scheme. It covered communities flooded in November 2019 and in Storms Ciara and Dennis in February 2020, and those communities needed more than 25 flooded properties to qualify ⁴.

That announcement extended the scheme to 31 December 2021 for the November 2019 floods and 1 July 2022 for the February 2020 floods ⁴. We found no open grant of this kind on the pages we checked. Ask your council. Prices for flood doors, barriers and surveys vary by firm and property, and we found no published price list.

Who checks the trade

There is no single register for flood resilience firms. These sources help you check risk and suppliers:

• GOV.UK flood risk service. It shows long-term flood risk from rivers and the sea, surface water, reservoirs and, where data exists, groundwater. It does not say how likely a specific property is to flood ⁵.
• Blue Pages. This directory is run by the National Flood Forum, a charity. It lists flood doors, barriers, surveys and other products, and links to a code of practice for property flood resilience. The Forum says it does not endorse the products listed ⁶.
• Somerset Rivers Authority. It explains the difference between resistance (keeping water out) and resilience (recovering faster). It warns that inclusion in a directory does not mean endorsement, so check suppliers yourself ⁷.
• Your insurer. Flood Re works through insurers, so ask yours how any work affects your cover ¹.