Where homes have been inhabitable as a result of the floods, insurance companies have been seeking alternative temporary accommodation with the cost of this being covered in individual policies. However, flood insurance has not been a given for all affected, with some policies not offering cover for flood damage. It is important to state to homeowners and renters that it is your responsibility to check your own policies to be assured that you are protected.

Will premiums increase?

Flood Re insurance service was introduced in 2016 to ensure that unaffordable premiums would be avoided. It acts as an insurer to the insurance companies so that the flood risk parts of a customer’s policy can be passed to them after exceeding a certain cost, which has in turn prevented gigantic premium from being offered to customers who live in flood risk areas or who have already experienced floods in the past.

Encouragingly for policyholders, the PwC do not expect to see dramatic increases to policyholders following this recent stint of bad weather. House insurance premiums have been at a loss in recent years to be able to offer competitive prices, which also means that policyholders who are not affected by floods can see an even better premium often remaining similar to the previous year.

What to do in event of a flood?

If you have been unfortunate enough to suffer damage due to floods, it is important that you keep damaged possessions and any repair receipts; this is so you can use these as evidence to your insurance company in process of a claim. Your insurance company should be aware of prevention tips that you can adopt that may speed up the restoration process. Always check this with your provider and do not redecorate straight away; this is because flood damage sinks further than you may be able to see at face value and some homes can take months to completely dry out.

How can I protect my home?

As mentioned above, your insurance company will have some maintenance tips to protect your home from further damage. The Government is also contributing to support those affected (including business). They will be offering up to £5,000 for flood defenses for affected homes and businesses. It can also be good practice to have up to date photos of your home so that you can compare them to the flood damage to support your insurance claims. If you live in an area that can be prone to floods, ensure that you shop around for the best insurance deal.

Insurance companies are heavily involved in managing and assessing Environmental, Social, and Governance risks, which is how they determine the level of insurance required. Insurers are beginning to devise more complex risk management techniques in line with extreme weather events which they can then relay to its clients. They can inform businesses, individuals and infrastructure of ways to better design buildings for resistance of wind and rain and ensure that products that they offer can be sustainable. Insurers are dominant investors in the economy and act as mediators between clients and policy leaders, which makes them vital in ensuring climate change preferences are pushed through the advice that they give. One strong way of advocating this is to reward good practices with reduced premiums.

The Financial Conduct Authority has published a statement on climate change and green finance, which includes a possible new requirement for firms to be more transparent in climate related disclosures. Climate change is becoming more of a focus for political debate which further pushes the insurance companies to design products to motivate the right practices. Raising client awareness ensuring that they know how their business model could be affected is crucial.

That includes small business too. If you are a small business owner you may not think that your business will have an impact, but the growing number of SMEs suggests otherwise. Considerations may turn to focus on other risk areas such as ethically sourcing products to reduce their liability, to support the move to green finance. But physical, transitional, and liability risk relates to all business and should start to be considered routinely, with insurers supporting this step.

It can be confusing for customers to understand what communications they have opted to receive, and what they have opted out of. This can cause some to unknowingly miss out on key updates and messages that relate to their policy area. More informative communication sent to customers would create a more trusting working relationship, which could encourage more information to be discussed to support the calculation of insurance premiums, and ensure the right services are being sent to the right people.

The experience that a customer has with an insurer is crucial to obtaining loyalty and retention from them in a highly competitive market. The sector has an abundance of products and services to offer, but at times customers do not realise what is on offer to them. This can be attributed to the lower level of contact currently received. A survey by Collinson found that interestingly, 63% of respondents were open to more communication from their insurance provider. 73% of these people interested in receiving more targeted communication related to services specific to them. A raised awareness of products and services would help customers to gain a better understanding of the types of insurance policies suitable for them.

Gadget insurance is a relatively cheap policy which can be used to protect a single or several gadgets. Here’s how it could help you.

Does anyone really need a gadget insurance policy?

Gadget insurance isn’t a policy that everyone will need. In some cases, your home insurance will extend some protection to your gadgets whilst you are out and about. In others, you might be too careful with your gadgets to necessitate an insurance policy – but as we all know, accidents will happen.

When considering a gadget policy, you should ask yourself:

• Can I afford to replace my items if I lose or break them?
• Are my gadgets still under their manufacturer warranty?
• Have I lost or damaged my gadgets in the past?

Well, what’s included?

The main benefit of gadget insurance is that there are only two types, single gadget and multiple gadget covers. That means there’s no need to shop around for specialist cover for your precious electronic devices; instead, you can protect specific gadgets or several gadgets with one policy.

Depending on the insurer, a gadget policy can be used to protect items such as:

• Camcorder
• Digital camera
• E-reader (eg, Kindle)
• Fitness tracker
• Headphones
• Laptop
• MP3 music player (eg, iPod)
• Personal digital assistant (PDA)
• Portable DVD/Blu-ray player
• Portable games console
• Sat-nav
• Smartwatch
• Tablet

The risk that you are covered against will vary depending on the insurer. Usually, it will cover you against theft, loss, mechanical breakdown, accidental damage, liquid damage and in some cases cover when you’re abroad.

Depending on the insurer you may need to pay extra for certain covers such as loss or global cover.

The appeal of gadget insurance will depend on the type of person you are. If you are constantly losing or breaking devices all the time or if you are dependent on a certain device, then a gadget policy will probably save you a good deal of money.