Insurance with flood cover for landlords
If you own a let property in a flood area or have suffered flooding previously, then you know how hard it is to get insurance covering floods. In partnership with The Home Insurer, there are now solutions available that will help protect you in the event of a flood.
As let properties are deemed commercial, they are not covered by the government and Association of British Insurers-backed Flood Re scheme. That’s bad news as floods can cause serious damage and disruption for landlords. After a Noah-Esque 40 days of constant rain at the start of 2026 in the UK, it’s time to consider your options.
1: Limited flood cover or higher flood excess. The Home Insurer has access to a let insurance provider that reviews every application for flood risk. Instead of giving a flood exclusion, they weigh up the risk and can offer cover that may be limited to £5k or £10k. That may be enough for you to get back on your feet.
Alternatively, they may offer full flood cover with a higher excess, say £5k or £10k. If you suffer a major flood, at least you know that the higher costs will be covered after your excess. Sounds a lot, but if the claim costs are £50k, then a £5k excess seems more reasonable and protects you from higher financial exposure.
If we can get these sorts of policies, they tend to be the most cost-effective as they are usually only a small degree more expensive than standard landlord policies with flood excluded.
2: Flood Flash parametric insurance is a clever take and gives you control over the level of cover. It is a device that is attached to the property that measures a flood event at either 20cm or 40cm. If a flood is detected, then your pre agreed level of insurance cover – say £10k or £20k – is paid to you in cash within days. This is straightforward cover and once you have the cash you can use it to sort your own repairs without any lengthy claims process.
The downside is the cover doesn’t activate until 20cm or 40cm height minimum, and the cost can be prohibitive depending on risk and history. Basically, the lower the trigger for the flood event and the higher the payout, the higher the cost.
The good news is this is a proven solution and it may be worth getting a quote to decide if right for you and your attitude to risk.
3: Add on flood cover. This does what it says and adds flood insurance for the full risk in addition to your existing flood-excluded policy. It means you have two policies on the address, one for flood and one for all other risks.
This is the ideal policy but is still in its infancy and costs may be prohibitive until it gains more traction. It’s maybe worth getting a quote though, as your risk appetite may be to get full cover so you can sleep at night, especially if you have suffered a recent flood.
If you have a flood risk at your rental property, speak to The Home Insurer today to see if they can help get you covered.