How Partners& introduced a solution to cover the flood excess for a national retail organisation. Â
If this winter has highlighted anything, it’s that the risk of flooding is becoming more and more likely in flood prone areas, and securing adequate and affordable insurance is not always easy. It’s not just the premium that can be increased – we’re seeing a significant increase in the excess amount that is being applied to policies.
Here’s how our Ecosystem Partner, FloodFlash can help.
The challenge
The client – a large, family-owned national retail firm with over 50 stores across the UK experienced difficulties with flood insurance for some of its locations. Â
Whilst most premises obtained flood insurance without issue, 12 of the stores had a large excess imposed by the main insurance provider. This was mainly due to an increased risk of groundwater build up as most of the properties are located on retail parks with concrete as far as the eye can see. During periods of heavy rainfall, the drainage systems can get overwhelmed, resulting in flooded car parks and the risk of flood water entering the stores. Â
The business was keen to have cover for this excess in the event of a flood, to minimise the cost and disruption a flood would cause.Â
Support
Working with our client, we introduced FloodFlash as a way of plugging the excess gap.Â
FloodFlash offers parametric insurance which works when a sensor records a flood episode above a pre-determined trigger depth. Up to three separate trigger depths can be selected with a different payout amount for each level.Â
The client chose a single trigger depth of 0.3m across all sites as it was felt that this would be the level at which water would enter the properties . Â
The payout amounts were set between £25k and £100k to cover the excess amount under the main insurance policy for each property in the event of a severe flood event or help with the clean-up and business interruption if a smaller flood event occurred.Â
Perform
In the event of a flood, the client would not need to claim on their main policy to receive the FloodFlash payout. As soon as the installed sensor confirms the chosen trigger depth has been reached by a flood, payment will be arranged. FloodFlash aims to pay all claims within 7 days. In most cases, where the sensor data can be easily validated, the claim will be paid much faster.Â
As well as providing the business with an affordable solution, the outcome helped to further strengthen our positive, long-term relationship with our client. Â