This expense could rapidly double if the disastrous weather conditions keep up in the country.
The latest data from a Deloitte LLP partner is showing that the storms and flooding that are pounding on the country – one after the next – could cost the home, auto, and UK flood insurance industry a minimum of £500 million.
That is only considered to be a starting point as the cost could end up being much higher.
This amount, which is about $822 million, could double, according to the partner, James Rakow, if the weather conditions keep up as they have been over the last while. Rakow also pointed out that this weather could also cause UK flood insurance premiums, among others to rise, this year. He also drew attention to the fact that it remains wintertime. The rainstorms that are common throughout the late winter and into the spring have yet to arrive.
Rakow said that UK flood insurance costs could break the £1 billion mark if it is a rainy February and March.
He predicted that there could be an increase of £10 to £15 per household in 2014, stating that “If we get continued rains and storms throughout February and March, we could easily see a figure of 1 billion pounds for the industry.”
West of London, towns along the bloated River Thames are preparing themselves for a worsening condition over the next little while. The people in these regions of the United Kingdom are suffering from the wettest conditions that they have experienced in hundreds of years. In fact, according to local records, the last time that area had seen those water levels was in 1776.
Data from the British weather service has reported that there have been two consecutive months of rain that has been breaking records as a result of the North Atlantic jetstream which is especially strong this year and that has been flowing through a more southern path than its typical path that is to the north of Scotland.
Rain continues to be predicted every day in this region throughout the short term forecast, suggesting that there won’t be any relief for the flood insurance industry any time soon.
