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1 in 20 have difficulty getting flood insurance

The Central Bank has  published a report  on homes and businesses unable to obtain flood cover (14 October).

The Flood Protection Gap Report examines the shortfall between the actual cost of flooding and what is covered by insurance, and the high levels of uninsured losses.

Demands on government to provide financial support are accompanied by risk to the financial system and the availability of credit, the report states.

Cover

The Central Bank identified how many homes and businesses in Ireland are unlikely to obtain flood cover.

The key findings include:

• Approximately 1 in 20 buildings have difficulty accessing flood insurance today,
• Estimated average annual cost of inland (river and surface water) flooding is €101m. Severe losses can be much higher than this, with a €510m loss expected about once every 25 years,
• Ireland is likely to see significantly more rainfall in the future due to climate change.

Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery said: “We hope that this analysis helps to inform the debate on the flood protection gap in Ireland, and recognise that addressing this issue requires work from a broad range of stakeholders.”