UK homes built in flood zones risk becoming uninsurable, warns Aviva chief

The chief executive of Aviva, Britain's largest insurer, has warned that homes being built today could eventually become uninsurable because many are located in flood-prone areas. Amanda Blanc said flood risk is "absolutely increasing," and that if current construction trends continue, around 115,000 homes will be built in flood zones over the next decade.

Speaking to the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast, Blanc said flood-risk areas are well documented and that careful thought is needed about where new homes are placed. According to the Environment Agency, about 6.3 million homes and businesses in England currently face flood risk. That figure could rise to around 8 million — roughly one in four properties — by mid-century as the climate crisis intensifies, the agency warned in August.

Research by Aviva found that nearly a third of homes built in 2024 will face some degree of flood risk by 2050, with one in seven facing medium-to-high risk. Blanc noted that property owners can take various measures to make homes more or less vulnerable to flooding, meaning damage can often be mitigated.

Following an unusually wet and stormy winter in the UK in 2023-24, the Met Office estimated that such winters have become roughly four times more frequent, shifting from a once-in-80-years event to a once-in-20-years event.

Blanc also urged the government to avoid speculative policy "kite flying" ahead of Chancellor John Healey's first budget on 28 October. Aviva is a major private pension provider, and speculation about pension policy changes has driven sharp spikes in withdrawals ahead of recent budgets — last year withdrawals ran about 30 times higher than normal, a trend Blanc said customers may later regret since tax-free lump sums cannot be redeposited once withdrawn.