Insuring Extreme Weather
min readWith the severe rainfall, flash flooding and golfball sized hailstones that parts of Yorkshire experienced yesterday, your first thought is "I hope no one was injured". Your second thought (if your a property lawyer) is "I hope they're insured!"
Which makes you wonder, as this type extreme weather is becoming more and more frequent as a result of climate change, are the insurance companies going to change their policies to account for it? Just as owners of properties in an area liable to flood have to pay an extra premium, are insurers going to bring in an extreme weather excess? Or even caveat out extreme weather unless an extra premium is paid?
Hopefully for now the classic risks of "storm", "tempest" or even "act of god" would cover these claims. But I can see the insurers trying to find ways of protecting themselves in light of the growing frequency of "freak" weather incidents causing damage to UK properties.
A bridge collapsed as flash flooding hit part of North Yorkshire when a month's rain fell in four hours.
