Flood victims "not necessarily" charged more

Victims of this year’s flooding in the UK will "not necessarily" have to pay more for home insurance, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Increased insurance premiums are not an inevitable consequence of this summer’s washouts, as they are not a common occurrence, said an ABI spokesman.

"Some insurers have said they will have to put up their premiums, others have said they won’t. It depends on many factors," said the ABI representative.

He continued: "It depends on whether or not the property has a history of flooding. If the company have faced more flood related claims than they will have budgeted for, that may have to be reflected in the future costs of flood insurance.

"It’s not a given that premiums are automatically going to increase."

According to the BBC’s Panorama programme, rainfall levels in the three months up to July 23rd 2007 were more than double the average amount for the time of year.