The recent floods have left thousands of car owners “financially submerged”, uSwitch.com has warned. The research conducted by uSwitch.com found that motorists in the worst-affected areas could see premiums rise by up to 57% following a flood-related claim. It also highlighted that some fully comprehensive policies are sketchy when it comes to flood cover.

According to uSwitch.com, more than a third of a million motorists, 25% of those living in flood risk areas, don’t have adequate insurance cover for flood damage to their vehicles. Third party fire and theft policies, often favoured by younger drivers who cannot afford fully comprehensive insurance, do not provide flood cover. Many motorists therefore had to personally foot the repair bill after the waters receded, or were forced to write off their vehicle altogether.

If you are a motorist affected, or potentially affected, by flooding, you are advised to:

• Check your policy documents to establish whether flood cover is included, and ask your broker for clarification if you are not clear about the cover. You may be ineligible to claim, for example, if you restart your car after a flood and cause an electrical failure.
• Consider a fully comprehensive policy if you currently only have third party theft and fire cover and live in an area of high flood risk. You can check flood risk for your postcode by visiting the Environment Agency website.
• If you do live in a flood prone area, consider switching to a provider which offers specific flood damage cover.

The value of motorists’ claims following the recent flooding is thought to total around £2.5 billion. In a bid to recoup this money, many insurance companies will be increasing premiums. It is reported that in Gloucester premiums would rise by up to 57% for drivers who had only a three year protected no claims discount (NCD). Many insurers offer optional NCD protection. Motorists may find it worthwhile to pay an additional premium to protect their NCD, as it allows them to make one claim during an insurance year without losing the no claims discount.

Consumer website, The Motley Fool suggests looking at newer insurers and brokers, as established insurers, like NIG, Zenith, CIS, Royal & Sun Alliance, Provident and Fortis, are currently more costly. Brands like Marks & Spencer which offer insurance may also be a good bet – they are under less pressure to claw back lost profits compared with car insurance specialists. Be wary of very cheap quotes though – your premium may rise when you come to renew the policy to make up for the introductory discount. And if you do live in an area of high flood risk, paying more for comprehensive car insurance now could pay dividends if your vehicle is damaged in a future deluge.

According to the Association of British Insurers, there have been up to £25 million motor insurance claims made this year as Britain saw the wettest summer in a hundred years. Not only have homes been damaged beyond repair but thousands of motorists have been left high and dry by insurance companies who are desperate to survive the vast payouts. Research by the online price comparison and switching website uswitch.com reveals that motor insurance premiums could go up to 57% if a claim is made on a flood damaged car. Worryingly, only 75% of all motorists in these flood-risk areas are even covered for such an eventuality.

If you have third party fire and theft insurance you are not covered for flood damage. However some motorists that are fully comprehensively insured might not be covered either in incidences when flooding occurs to the extent it did this summer. The insurance companies often look for loopholes.

One such loophole involves action taken by motorists during and after the flooding. If a motorist tries to restart their car after it has been flooded and then causes an electrical fault to occur, they might exempt themselves from cover. Also, if the motorist drives the car through flooded areas, where water can become sucked through the exhaust pipe to flood the engine, this too can invalidate motorists from cover.

It’s a two-way argument. Motorists should research their cover, read the small print if they live in areas at risk of flooding and then check if they are adequately covered. Equally, insurance companies should notify their customers about what they are covered for. Direct Line, Churchill, More Than, esure, Norwich Union Direct, Saga and Switchcover are all non-specific in terms of their cover for flood damage.

Another problem is possibly losing a no claims discount when making a claim after flood damage, even though it could be argued as an ‘Act of God’. There could also be an excess to pay too when submitting a claim, but again this is all dependent on the extent of the damage and the individual policy. The estimated payout total for all insurance companies, both motor and home, is set to reach a massive £2.5 billion from this year’s flooding.

Gocompare.com have estimated that over a quarter of UK drivers might not be covered in the event of flooding, but after this summer’s biblical flooding, what is now classed as a flood-risk area and what is not? The Head of Insurance at uswitch.com Aron Thompson said, “Too many motorists are playing a risky game by failing to secure adequate cover should the worst happen”.

Of course, it would make sense to always be fully comprehensively insured but often this is too expensive for motorists. Overall tips would be to avoid tampering or driving cars that have already been affected by flood damage, have a detailed knowledge of what you are covered for, and remain in communication with your insurers at all times.

If your vehicle has been damaged by the recent floods you may be in for a nasty shock when you try to claim on your car insurance policy. Around 28% of drivers in the UK do not have fully comprehensive insurance, opting instead for the cheaper third party or ‘third party, fire and theft policies’. Sadly these do not cover damage caused by floods. If you have always assumed that comprehensive cover is out of your financial reach you may be surprised to discover that in the last few years the differential between policy types has been reduced.

The Internet insurance comparison site Gocompare.com offers the following advice to drivers faced with the threat of flooding:-

• If there is time, move your car to a safe place out of the reach of the flood water.
• Never attempt to drive through flood water as this is almost bound to damage your engine, particularly if you have a turbo-charged or diesel engine.
• If your car is submerged, do not try to start the engine. Instead, if possible, extract the water and allow the car to dry out. You may be lucky and find that the water has not been sufficiently deep to ruin the engine.
• As well as covering repairs to your car and towing charges, comprehensive policies will also cover damage to upholstery, carpets and stereo systems.

A recent report has named Direct Line the best provider of car insurance in the United Kingdom. According to the Deloitte Quarterly Motor Insurance Market Report, Direct Line Insurance offers motorists both competitive deals as well as reasonable premiums, thereby placing the company well ahead of other players within the car insurance market.

The Deloitte survey reviewed the risks and benefits associated with insurance policies offered by 12 online and 168 broker-operated insurance companies. Direct Line, which is currently the largest insurance provider in the country, fared well in all areas of interest. In addition, the Deloitte report suggests that Direct Line’s services far surpassed those offered by other top international providers of car insurance such as Norwich Union.

• 0% interest rates for those car-owners who decide to pay on a monthly basis.
• Special discounts to clients who own more than one vehicle
• Special deals to meet the needs of clients whose cars have been hit by uninsured drivers. According to Direct Line, “If a customer is hit by an uninsured driver they will not pay an excess and their no-claims discount will not be affected.”

According to Paul Baxter from Direct Line’s Car Insurance division, the company’s success has much to do with the specific type of service it provides to the customer: “Many consumers mistakenly believe that they can get full product information and the best deal from price comparison sites however, they are simply ‘on-line’ middlemen. Direct Line car insurance is only available direct from the insurer, either online, or on the telephone and cannot be found on price comparison sites.” The price comparison websites that Baxter alludes to here have traditionally played a very important role in influencing consumers’ choice of insurance provider. Research has suggested that a staggering 41% of consumers take the information provided by price comparison websites at face value. However, none of the major price comparison sites provide information about all the insurance policies available on the market. Furthermore, price comparison websites compare price only. This might seem like a redundant assertion, but be warned, price comparison websites do not allow you to assess deals in terms of other benefits or discounts. The ‘best deal’ as detailed by a price comparison website will simply be the cheapest and may perform badly in other areas. Direct Line, according to Paul Baxter manages to provide a successful combination of affordable premiums and quality service: “The Deloitte report shows that Direct Line continues to offer our customers some of the most competitive premiums on the market, but it is about more than just price – we offer our customers innovative and appealing product features and excellent service.” As the Deloitte report demonstrates, Direct Line provides consumers with inexpensive, but top-quality insurance policies. Most importantly, however, it seems that this insurance company is unwilling to strip down the services it provides so as to minimize prices and thereby win the approval of price comparison websites.