watching the floods story on the news - 1 IN 4 households dont have house insurance

[nailpolish]

and they are calling on the government to help them out

if the government are willing ot help people out who dont have insurance, ie give them money i presume, then, er, why do i have insurance???

That's the thing , it is priorities - some think having Sky or latest plasma tv is more important than insurance. Fine, but I don't want to have to fork out indirectly for their replacements either by having my premiums loaded or increased taxation.

If you buy on a flood plain , your environmental searches will show that and I suspect most mrotgage companies would insist on buildings insurance at the time but you could let that lapse without them realising. Presumably most of the damage would be to contents anyway which is optional.

RTL some peopel might want the plasma yes, I used to be surprised how many of my clients in council housing did tbh

But lots don't

Lots eat poorly so their kids can eat well, sit o plastic chairs so their kids can have shoes when they break, and for all sorts of reasons

Don't assume everyone in council housing ahs a palsma screen, just as you can't assume everyone in council housing is there because they dont want to work (disability, mums rehoused from somestic violence etc) or even that everyone entitled to council housing gets it, and therefore gets the associated benefits

Judging by the tv footage, a lot of the people without insurance are clearly not on the breadline (or weren't before the floods).

speccy, i take it you dont have insurance? and yes, i would sell my laptop to pay for house insurance. you could get a lot of years of insurance for the price of a laptop

Noodlestruddle - a luxury ? yeah right. You're having a laff. Yeah buy your plasma then, as kangamummy says. NO SYMPATHY WHATSOEVER.

Not veryone on a flood plain si there because they bought the house, if you rent you don't see land searches, if you are living in a council house or tied accomodation (still qute common on the somerset levels, a renowned flood plain) you donte xactly get achoice either

a substantial amount of the costs may be buildings - eg ripping up the floors, drying out, rewiring, replastering, new skirting, new doors.

Then you get the cosmetic bit of carpets furniture etc.

Err, the size of the houses, the huge tv.... I agree with naily. It's all about priorities and choice. If someone choses not to have insurance then fine but don't expect everyone else to pay for it when things go tits up.

LizS, the buying on the floodplain thing is nonsense. Set by the environmental. All of out town is 'high risk' and we can't change insurers now. Its nonsense. Makes me mad.

What I can't believe is how so many houses in this country have been allowed to be built on flood plains
There is a reason that this land has traditionally remained empty. the secret is in the name of the land FLOOD PLAIN. Why is planning permission given? That is a scandal.

im not talking about contents

its the repairs to the house im talking about

speccy - ok ok, sorry

I would absolutely sell my TV, laptop and DVD player to pay for insurance on my stuff.

We're talking about being able to replace your kids' CLOTHES if your house is destroyed.

Sorry, but that's a greater priority than my need to watch DVDs.

I've always lived in flats or semi-detached since leaving the family home at 18.

Back in May, I accidentally set our kitchen on fire.

Pure accident.

Could have easily torched the entire place and everyone else's in the building.

THAT'S why contents insurance is a priority.

yes it is a scandal carmenere

anyone can access info to flood plains - when i moved house a few months ago one house i looked at was besdie a river and i found online the flood risk levels

yes, I agree about the building on Flood Plains. Ludicrous.

And we need to be doing more in terms of long term planning (as a country) for how we are going to deal with these problems in the future. Flood defences are one thing but it's like putting a plaster on a cut - that water's got to go somewhere and I think, it appears, as though we are hurriedly trying to do a massive catch-up for years of doing very little about it all.

Then sell the blimmin tv!! If someone thinks that it's more important to have sky/broadband/a big tv/ a holiday in Spain than to insure their belongings then they have to live with the consequences of that decision.

I'm not talking about people who can't pay. I'm talking about people who choose not to.

To answer your question, Carmenere, probably because of British councils' reluctance to every build on green belts.

We need to build more hills

Agree carmenere, planning rules prety much set poeple up for a nightmare- and its a nightmare even if you do have insurance, lets face it

Of course peolpes circumstances can change Speccy, ours did and many peoples do. I 6do^ think housing insuraqnce is a priority but there's a gap of a few weelks or even months whilst benefits are sorted when poeple simply have NOTHING to live on.

And a plasma / big TV represents nothing about current circumstances, only former. We ahve fab leather sofas that cost a bomb- didnt stop su being broke when WTC stopped payments by mistake did it?