England Is Building Flood-Risk Homes That May Become Uninsurable, Aviva Chief Warns
New homes being built in England's flood-risk areas could become uninsurable in the future, Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc has warned.
She told the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast that England was "for sure" building properties that might become uninsurable. Her comments were reported on 29 September 2026. She described the flooding threat as "absolutely increasing" The Guardian.
Aviva research points to large numbers. Assuming current building patterns continue, 115,000 homes will be built in flood zones in the next decade. Nearly a third of new homes built in 2024 will face some flood risk by 2050. One in seven from that year will face medium-to-high risk, meaning a clearly higher chance of flooding The Guardian.
National figures show the same pressure. According to the Environment Agency, about 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding. The agency warned in August that the figure could reach around 8 million, or one in four properties, by mid-century. After the wet and stormy winter of 2023-24, the Met Office estimated winters like that had shifted from once-in-80-year events to once-in-20-year events The Guardian.
Blanc has raised this issue before. In 2020, she led the UK government's independent review into flood insurance Aviva. A September 2021 Aviva shareholder update said she was calling for urgent action to protect UK homes and businesses from flood Aviva. In 2024, she said it was "extraordinary" that more than 100,000 homes had been built on flood plains in the last decade Reuters.
In the same podcast, Blanc urged the government to avoid policy "kite flying" before John Healey's first budget as chancellor on 28 October. The term means leaking possible policy changes before the budget to test public reaction The Times. Aviva saw 30 times the normal level of pension withdrawals in the last year amid speculation about pension changes before the budget, according to Blanc The Guardian.
Dame Amanda Blanc leads Aviva, a FTSE 100 company, one of the 100 largest firms listed on the London Stock Exchange The Times. In May 2026, she said businesses were being harmed by political turmoil in Britain Reuters.
The broader context here is a clash between housing plans and insurance maths, like two maps of the same land that do not match. Planners approve homes where demand and local targets point. Insurers set prices using forward-looking climate and loss data. If those two views stay apart for a decade of new building, the cost shifts. Homeowners pay through higher premiums, the yearly price of cover, or higher excesses, the sum paid first on a claim. Lenders face risk to the property behind a loan. Government may face pressure to step in if many homes cannot get cover.
Looking at what this means for policymakers, timing matters. Flood defence spending, planning rules and insurance backstops, last-resort safety nets, work on different timelines. Homes approved now will still stand in 2050. That makes the next round of spending and planning decisions important for how many of the projected 115,000 homes go ahead, where they are built, and what flood-resilient standards they meet.
