UK floods insurance loss estimate lifted to £375m: PERILS

The insured property loss for the floods in the UK, which mainly affected Wales, and the Midlands and Yorkshire in England from February 9 to 29, 2020, is estimated at £375 million, according to Zurich-based catastrophe insurance data provider PERILS.

Based on detailed claims data collected from the majority of the affected insurance companies, PERILS has updated its estimate of the insured property market loss for the February 2020 UK floods from £297 million to £375 million.

The February 2020 floods in the UK were the result of record-breaking rainfall which led to extensive river and flash flooding, mainly associated with the three named storms, Ciara, Dennis and Jorge.

Flood damage during the period occurred throughout the entire UK. The worst affected regions were Wales and the Midlands, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber in England, according to PERILS. In total, an estimated 4,800 properties were flooded, although many more buildings were successfully protected by flood defences.

PERILS said an updated estimate of the market loss from the event will be made available in February 2021, twelve months after the event end date.

Floods in November and December 2019, plus windstorms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge in February 2020, are estimated by PERILS to have cost the UK insurance industry an additional £400 million approximately. The resulting total industry loss figure from both the storms and floods during the 2019/2020 UK winter is in the region of £775 million.