Members of Newcastle’s Regional Community Resilience Group (RCRG) are struggling to find affordable flood insurance for their homes.
The group was started in 2020 following a particularly bad flood in the town, and the membership grew dramatically following the flood of autumn 2023. Many of the members are from the Marguerite area of Newcastle.
The group is expecting many more to join following the recent flooding in Newcastle, and they wanted to pass on the message that flood insurance costs are increasing in the town.
Members contacted the Mourne Observer recently to explain their concerns about being turned down for insurance from some companies, while other members expressed frustrations at being unable to receive support from a government scheme which helps those who are flooded to insure their homes.
One member explained: “I was turned down by one company after my last flood claim and was subsequently told that company had decided to pull out of Northern Ireland for all domestic or home insurance. Another company also turned me down for home insurance, and I had a policy with them for quite a few years.”
A private survey of some of the members of the group found that a third of those who responded were concerned that they would be turned down when applying for insurance.
Four members of the group who took part in the poll were told by their insurer that they could not renew their policies, and as a result, they had to go elsewhere for cover.
All respondents had pointed out that their home insurance had risen. Four members’ policies increased by over 10 percent, and one of those had an increase of over 25 percent.
The group is keen to hear from other residents in Newcastle and is appealing for them to complete the Mourne Observer’s questionnaire about flooding in the area.
They said: “There is no official data on the true extent of flooding of land and property in the Newcastle area or indeed in South Down! This has obvious implications for predicting the extent of future flooding events in our area and preparing adequate drainage and flood defences should we once again experience prolonged heavy rainfall and storms.
“We are therefore asking readers to kindly share any information that would be useful. Please let us know not only if your house flooded but also if your garden, yard, shed, garage, or fields flooded?
“This information will be most useful for NI Water, Rivers, and the planning authorities in providing future flood proofing in the greater Newcastle area.”
Answer the questionnaire:
If you would like to answer these questions, either email answers to r.scott@mourneobserver.com
Or complete the survey form at the end of the post:
• Has your home been flooded in the past 20
years? If so, when and how often?
• How serious was the flooding?
• Have you had to build flood protections to
your home?
• If so, what did you build?
• And did you get any financial help under
the HFPGS?
• Have your home insurance costs increased
because of recent flooding?
• Can you detail by what percentage?
• Have you had trouble insuring your home
because of flooding, or been denied?
• When and how often?
