A Cumbrian MP has warned homeowners could be left without home insurance as an important industry deadline approaches.
Sir Tony Cunningham, the member of parliament for Workington, says some residents in flood-prone areas could be left without home insurance because of the government’s inability to reach a deal with the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
There had previously been an agreement between legislators and the ABI that homeowners in flood prone areas such as Cockermouth and Tewkesbury would still have access to competitive, cheap insurance.
But Sir Cunningham said the government were failing to act quickly enough, telling the Times &Star paper: “People want flood insurance at a cost that’s reasonable and without an excess that makes it not worth having.”
A previous probationary period in which ABI companies offered insurance while a long term deal was arranged with the government was due to run out at the end of May, but has been extended by a month to allow for a summit between the two parties to take place.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “We are doing everything we can to … strike a deal by the end of July.”