Strengthen your flood defence with insurance checks: Catalyst boss

Catalyst Services UK Managing Director Brad Jackson is backing a government agency’s second national Flood Action Week – but says the agency has missed a key action in its advice.

The Environment Agency launched its Flood Action Week in 2024 after the wettest 18 months on record.

This year, it is warning householders and businesses not to be complacent, giving them a five-point plan to be prepared if flooding occurs in their areas.

Brad Jackson said all five points in the plan are very useful and should be followed, but there is a sixth one that appears to be missing from advice being issues to promote the week of action.

First flood action – check your insurance

He explained: “One of the most important things property owners or anyone using a building, for a home or business, must do is make sure they remain properly insured.

“We would recommend that property insurance be reviewed annually in light of possible changing risks. These include changes in property value and flood risks in specific areas. However, the Flood Action Week information doesn’t refer to this. This is a missed opportunity.”

People unaware of flood risks – EA

With winter around the corner, Flood Action Week 2025 is the perfect moment to make sure your property’s insurance policy provides you with the right type of cover at the right level, if the worst happens, said Brad Jackson.

The Environment Agency’s publicity material makes clear the scale of the threat. It warns 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea or surface water.

Yet many people remain unaware of their personal risk and unprepared for what might happen, the agency goes on to say, at a time when climate change is making extreme weather more frequent and more intense, so once safe areas are now at higher risk of flooding.

Last winter, the Environment Agency teams issued more than 3,000 flood alerts, 1,600 flood warnings, and three severe flood warnings. It has 600 people on call at any one time to respond to flood incidents.

5 ways to prepare for winter floods

The Environment Agency urges people to take 5 “simple” steps towards being prepared for any flood emergency:

Check long-term flood risks in your area – search ‘prepare for flooding’ on at www.gov.uk to find specific information about the risk to your home, business and neighbourhood.
Sign up to flood warnings – these can give you crucial extra time to keep your family safe and property protected when flooding threatens your area.
Make a flood plan – knowing what to do can make all the difference. A simple flood plan covers everything from storing important documents to knowing how to turn off electricity and water supplies.
Create a flood kit – containing essentials like a torch, an external phone battery pack, a battery-powered radio, first aid supplies, warm clothes and copies of important documents.
Consider installing flood resilience measures – such as non-return valves on waste pipes or flood-resistant door barriers, which protect belongings and help you recover from flooding more quickly.

Helping insurance providers protect customers

Catalyst has been assisting insurance companies as they help their claims customers recover from weather events for over a decade. It has published advice on how to prepare for, and recover from, winter storms, which includes ~~double-~~checking insurance cover.

The company delivers a comprehensive range of drainage, water mains, off-mains drainage and subsidence services on behalf of a growing number of insurance providers, brokers, and loss adjusters, and their claims customers.