Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that households in high flood risk areas are proactively informed about the Flood Re scheme; and what responsibilities insurers, local authorities, and the Environment Agency have to ensure that eligible residents are aware of this Government-backed support to help reduce insurance premiums.

The Flood Re scheme is a joint Government and industry reinsurance scheme that helps households at high risk of flooding access affordable home insurance through the open market. It is insurance companies who engage with Flood Re, rather than households. The Flood Re scheme is designed to operate in the background, enabling households to purchase insurance from insurance companies in the usual way, without having to engage with Flood Re.

Flood Re leads national communications activity, provides public guidance and operates an online eligibility tool to help households and advisers understand access to affordable flood insurance. The Environment Agency and local authorities also support awareness by signposting high‑risk households to relevant guidance and community engagement on flood risk and emergency planning.

In 2024-25, Flood Re supported over 346,000 household policies, with more than 650,000 properties benefitting since the scheme’s launch. As of December 2024, the average home insurance premium following a flood claim was around £1,100, compared with approximately £4,400 prior to Flood Re.