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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what independent research is being carried out on the availability and affordability of flood insurance for small businesses in flood affected areas.

We have recently published a report, carried out on our behalf by Ipsos MORI that considers the availability of flood insurance for small businesses in areas of high flood risk.

The study found that uptake of insurance in small and medium sized businesses is high, with 95% of businesses having commercial insurance cover and only 2.5% reporting any difficulties in accessing insurance.

The report is available on-line on the science and research section of Defra’s website, under the heading “Affordability and Availability of Flood Insurance – FD2688”.

We continue to keep this important issue under review.