Aviva Boss: Flood-Zone Homes Could Become Uninsurable — SkimNews
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- Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva, told the BBC that England is "for sure" building properties that may become uninsurable, arguing that inevitability of flooding is incompatible with how insurance pools work.
- Blanc said 110,000 homes had been built in flood areas over the past decade, with another 115,000 projected in flood zones over the next ten years — a trajectory she called nonsensical.
- The Environment Agency estimates roughly 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are currently at flood risk, a figure that could climb to 8 million — one in four properties — by mid-century as the climate crisis worsens.
- Aviva's research found 26% (101,657) of new homes carry some flood risk now, and one in seven will face medium-to-high flood risk by 2050.
- Blanc outlined mitigation measures including bricks with self-closing air vents, stainless-steel kitchens over wood, and plug points raised halfway up walls to reduce flood damage.
- The Met Office has estimated that very wet and stormy winters like 2023-24 have shifted from once-in-80-year to once-in-20-year events, sharpening Blanc's warning about building patterns.
- Blanc also urged the government to stop pension-tax "kite flying" ahead of Chancellor John Healey's first budget on 28 October, noting Aviva saw 30 times normal pension withdrawals before recent budgets.
- Blanc separately confirmed she will step down next year as BP's senior independent director after five years on the board, calling it "time to move away."
Why it matters: With 110,000 flood-zone homes already built and another 115,000 projected, homeowners and mortgage lenders in high-risk areas face a concrete threat: uninsurable properties are harder to sell and refinance, with knock-on effects on local property values and which towns remain viable. Blanc's framing — that inevitability of flooding breaks the insurance-pool model — shifts the debate from pricing risk to refusing to cover it, putting pressure on planners and housebuilders before the next wave of construction locks in losses.
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