UK FLOOD BILL TO EXCEED £1BN FOLLOWING RECORD DECEMBER RAINFALL

A series of storms have continued to cause flooding in northern areas of the UK during the Christmas period, with Lancashire, Cumbria and Northumberland among the worst affected regions. Parts of northern England, including areas of Manchester and Leeds, were submerged when storm Eva struck on Boxing Day, impacting parts of the country where land was already saturated from heavy December rainfall. Rainfall records were smashed across many parts of the country during the course of December. The cost of the storms to the insurance sector remains uncertain, with none of the major modelling firms making public estimates of the likely insured damage bill. An estimate by PwC issued on December 30 suggested an insured damage bill of between £900m and £1.2bn, although further storms and flooding have hit since this estimate was issued. PwC said the flooding may impact the year-end profitability of UK insurers.