Flood Re and flood insurance: who qualifies and how the scheme works
Published · 5 min read · Figures checked . UK rules and rates change, so check the official sources below before you act.
Flood Re is a government and insurer scheme that helps keep home insurance available in flood-risk areas. This guide explains who qualifies, what the £250 excess means, the 2039 end date and what to do if cover is refused.
What Flood Re is and how it works
Flood Re is a reinsurance scheme, which means it insures insurers rather than households. GOV.UK describes it as a joint industry and government initiative that aims to promote the affordability and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. In practice, you do not buy anything from Flood Re. You buy a home insurance policy from an ordinary insurer, and that insurer can pass the flood risk on that policy to Flood Re in return for a charge. Flood Re's own site states that the premiums it charges insurers vary by the Council Tax band of the property. Once you have the policy, you deal with your insurer for everything, including claims. This guide is general information for people with homes in the UK. It is not about cover for businesses, and it is not advice about any particular policy or insurer.
Which homes qualify
Flood Re lists its eligibility criteria on its website. The policy must be held in the name of one or more individuals, and the policyholder or their immediate family must live in the home for some or all of the time, or the property must be unoccupied. The home must be a single residential unit or a building of two or three residential units, and it must have a domestic Council Tax band of A to H or the equivalent. The home must also have been built before 1 January 2009, although a home built before that date and later demolished and rebuilt is still eligible. Bed and breakfast premises paying business rates, company houses and flats, and properties used to earn commercial income are not expected to qualify. Blocks of more than three flats are unlikely to qualify for buildings or combined cover, although individual leaseholders protecting their own flat can be eligible. Some residential buy to let properties are eligible and others are not, depending on whether they meet the criteria.
- Built before 1 January 2009 (a rebuilt home still counts).
- Council Tax band A to H or equivalent.
- A single home, or a building of two or three homes.
- Policy held by an individual, not a company.
The key figures: excess, charges and end date
Flood claims on a policy passed to Flood Re carry a fixed excess of £250 per claim. An excess is the amount you pay towards a claim before the insurer pays the rest. Because the excess is fixed, it does not vary between insurers for these claims. Flood Re's published charges to insurers for 2026/27, for policies rated on or after 1 April 2026, run from £147 to £1,077 for buildings only, from £58 to £536 for contents only, and from £205 to £1,613 for combined cover, rising with Council Tax band. These are charges to insurers, not prices that you pay, and your insurer decides the price on your policy. Flood Re is also temporary. GOV.UK says it will end in 2039, and Flood Re describes it as a temporary scheme designed to run for 25 years, after which insurers are expected to handle flood risk in a different way, known as risk reflective pricing, where cover and cost reflect each property's own flood risk.
A worked example
The figures below are illustrative, using Flood Re's published numbers. Flood Re has announced that it will more than halve the charge it makes to insurers for contents-only cover in Council Tax bands A and B, from £58 to £25 from April 2027. The difference is £58 minus £25, which is £33, and £33 divided by £58 is about 56.9%, which is why the cut is described as more than half. Flood Re says insurers are expected to pass the saving on to customers, but this is an expectation, and the price you are quoted is still set by your own insurer. Now suppose a household has two separate flood claims on a policy passed to Flood Re. The fixed excess applies to each claim, so for example the household would pay £250 on the first claim and £250 on the second, which is £500 in total towards those two claims, before the insurer pays the rest.
What to do if you are refused cover or quoted a very high price
Citizens Advice says that insurers taking part in Flood Re do not have to give you a quote, so it can be worth asking several. It also says your existing insurer is not obliged to suggest Flood Re, so one option is to ask them to consider it, particularly at renewal, when an insurer may raise the premium significantly or decline to renew. Another option is a specialist broker, and Citizens Advice points to the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) find insurance service. GOV.UK suggests advice from the National Flood Forum or MoneyHelper, or a broker who specialises in properties that are difficult to insure. If an insurer asks for evidence of your flood risk, GOV.UK says the Environment Agency will send a free letter within 20 days, and the Environment Agency covers England. Citizens Advice's guidance for Scotland points to flood maps published by SEPA, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Common mistakes and where to get free help
Citizens Advice says you must answer an insurer's questions honestly and take reasonable care that your answers are accurate. If you deliberately or carelessly withhold information, the insurer can refuse your claim, so many people find it helpful to check any past flooding is stated correctly. Another common mistake is assuming that a leasehold flat in a large block is covered by the same rules as a house; it is worth checking who insures the building. Renters may find that a landlord's policy does not cover their own belongings, as GOV.UK points out, in which case contents insurance is a separate matter. If a claim or renewal goes wrong, Citizens Advice can explain your options for free, and GOV.UK also points people to MoneyHelper and the National Flood Forum for free advice.
Check before you act
Flood Re's rules, charges and reforms are changing, and the 2027/28 figures start from April 2027. Please confirm the details on the official pages linked below before relying on them.
Sources
For information only. See our disclaimer and editorial standards. Spotted an error? Tell us.
