Altus Insurance whitepaper spreads - Flipbook - Page 22
Engineering works –
progress update (cont.)
FloodRe - “Build Back Better”
While the smart use of technology usually grabs
the headlines, not every innovation is dependent
upon it to create change.
A recent collaboration between Flood Re (a not-forpro昀椀t, levy-backed reinsurer of flood damage in the
UK) and the wider industry called Build Back Better15,
has shown that a shi昀琀 in mindset and approach
can have just as signi昀椀cant an impact as any AI
tool. This is a fundamental change to how insurers
handle a claim, as the principle of indemnity is to
put the policyholder back in the position they were
before the flood, rather than make improvements to
mitigate against a future loss.
A signi昀椀cant number of the country’s insurers have
joined the initiative, agreeing to pay additional
costs of up to £10,000 to implement flood resilient
property improvements as part of their property
repairs following a flood claim.
These improvements are relatively simple things
like raising the level of electrical wall sockets,
installing non-return valves and flood-resistant
doors and using alternatives to wooden flooring,
such as concrete and porcelain tiles.
The real innovation here is in the industry’s ability
to ignore established practices by looking beyond
its annual renewal cycle and taking a collaborative
approach to reducing the perennial problem of
how to protect thousands of UK properties at
severe and repeated risk of flood.
It is a good example of insurers adapting their
propositions and their approach to act at the claim
stage to improve the resilience of the customer’s
property while simultaneously reducing the flood
exposure across the country, one claim at a time.
More than that, this approach supports the
objective of Flood Re fully transferring the flood
risk back to the market by 2039 through securing
a real and practical reduction in the underlying
flood risk.
“By de昀椀nition, it’s madness
to reinstate flood damaged
property with the same
vulnerabilities as before. This
initiative supports best practice
and reduces the impact
of subsequent events for
homeowners.”
Andy Bord,
CEO, Flood Re
“This collaboration to improve
the underlying risk for everyone
could be extended more broadly
by taking a global view of risk,
rather than an individual one,
and introducing measures to
improve the sustainability and
carbon footprint of properties to
mitigate the growth in climate
related risks.”
Mark McDonald,
Altus Consulting
22
15
https://www.floodre.co.uk/buildbackbetter/
