Flood insurance relief for small firms

Simon Edmondson, FSB Regional Chairman for the Greater Manchester

Thousands of small businesses are set to benefit from a new flood insurance package announced by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).

The new BIBA flood insurance scheme should help the many small business in who struggle to access affordable flood insurance. Up to now, a small but significant minority of high risk businesses have either been refused insurance or faced unaffordable premiums or excesses – a situation that will be exacerbated by the proposed 12% tax hike on insurance premiums.

The new was welcomed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which has campaigned hard for a fairer deal for small businesses at risk of flooding, and has also working collaboratively with BIBA to address a variety of flood insurance and resilience challenges faced by SMEs.

Simon Edmondson, Regional Chairman for the Greater Manchester region, which was badly affected by floods last Christmas, said: “For the thousands of small businesses in our region that currently struggle to secure affordable flood insurance, this is a welcome first step by the industry. We are particularly pleased this scheme will recognise and reward small businesses who invest in flood resilience measures.

“We all know how bad the floods have been in Greater Manchester in 2016 alone, but our research shows around two thirds of small businesses have been affected by severe weather in recent years. It’s not a problem that’s going away. Small businesses are at the heart of our local community and economy, and they need to be able to get back on their feet as soon as possible after a flooding event.

“Small businesses were not included in the recent Flood Re scheme to protect high risk domestic households. FSB has challenged Government and industry to provide a workable solution for small businesses which takes account of resilience improvements. BIBA has been the first to respond. They have set a new industry benchmark, providing much needed flood insurance for small businesses.”

Any business having difficulty accessing affordable flood insurance to contact BIBA’s Find a Broker Service on 0370 950 1790.