The Aporia · New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss

New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss

Read the original at The Guardian ↗

Cite

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Kollewe, J. (2026, September 29). New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/29/new-uk-homes-flood-risk-areas-insurance-aviva-amanda-blanc-budget

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Amanda Blanc, CEO of Aviva, warns that approximately 115,000 homes being constructed in flood-risk areas over the next decade could become uninsurable due to increasing flooding threats. She highlights that nearly a third of new homes built this year will face some level of flooding risk by 2050, with one in seven at medium-to-high risk, emphasizing the need for careful consideration of where new developments are located.

Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Amanda Blanc, the CEO of Aviva, warned that many newly constructed homes in England could become uninsurable due to increasing flood risks. According to Aviva's research, approximately 115,000 homes will be built in high-risk flood zones over the next decade, with about one in nine new homes constructed between 2022 and 2024 being at medium to high risk of flooding. The Environment Agency reports that around 6.3 million homes and businesses are currently at risk of flooding in England, a number expected to rise to nearly 8 million by mid-century due to climate change. Blanc emphasized the need for careful consideration of where new housing developments are situated and suggested various measures to mitigate flood risks.

Written for “Home Flood Insurance Risk” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 41% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Warning more homes will be uninsurable due to flood risk Same event

BBC News

Hedges 5 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100

Takeaways from the AP's analysis on the fundamental flaws in the national flood insurance program Different event

Toronto Star

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles discuss different aspects of flood risk and insurance without clearly describing the same specific incident.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

41%

7 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

66/100

The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Environment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2763 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Julia Kollewe

12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

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🔮 Johnson, of Misterton in Nottinghamshire, submitted false claims to Axa Insurance between May 2021 and January 2022, relating to alleged burglaries at properties in Shetland and Goole, East Yorkshire.

2026-10-06 · speculative framing · Jailed Lego collector’s insurance scam highlights UK’s £1.3bn fraud problem

🔮 The boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has warned that homes being built now could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.

2026-09-29 · mixed framing · New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss

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Also by Julia Kollewe

Healey poised to overturn cut to cash Isa allowance in first budget

2026-10-28 · The Guardian

John Healey to end standing charges on gas bills for 23m homes

2026-10-28 · The Guardian

Thames Water creditors secure former Labour minister to drive rescue deal

2026-10-20 · The Guardian

Millions unable to use Revolut app or cards as company suffers ‘service disruption’

2026-10-20 · The Guardian

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 12 articles by Julia Kollewe →

Topics

Aviva BBC Britain England the Environment Agency

Subjects

Aviva ORG · 3× BBC ORG · 2× Blanc PERSON · 2× England GPE · 2× Amanda Blanc PERSON · 1× Britain GPE · 1× John Healey’s PERSON · 1× the Environment Agency ORG · 1× the Met Office ORG · 1×

Narrative

Aviva is a leading private pension provider, and speculation about changes to pensions led to a jump in withdrawals in the run-up to the budget in the last two years.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29

🔮 The boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has warned that homes being built now could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas.

2026-09-29 · The Guardian

New UK homes in flood-risk areas could become uninsurable, says Aviva boss · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 7 hedged)

The boss of Britain’s biggest insurer has warned that homes being built now could become uninsurable in the future because they are sited in flood-risk areas. uncertain

they → warn → areas

Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said the flooding threat was “absolutely increasing”. asserted

threat → say → Aviva

Assuming current construction patterns continue, 115,000 homes will be built in flood zones in the next decade. asserted

homes → assume → decade

“That doesn’t seem to me to make sense. asserted

That → seem → sense

We need to think about where those homes are being built,” she told the BBC. asserted

she → need → BBC

About 6.3m homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding, according to the Environment Agency. uncertain

homes → accord → Agency

This could increase to around 8m, or one in four properties, by mid-century as the climate crisis worsens, it warned in August. uncertain

it → increase → August

Blanc told the BBC’s Big Boss Interview podcast that England was “for sure” building properties that might become uninsurable in the future. uncertain

that → tell → future

“It’s very well known where these flooding areas are. asserted

areas → know → ?

Let’s think very carefully about homes that are being built. asserted

that → think → homes

She said a lot could be done to mitigate damage, adding: “You can do all sorts of different things to your property to make it more or less vulnerable to flood.” uncertain

it → say → flood

According to Aviva’s research, nearly a third of new homes built in 2024 will be at risk of some flooding by 2050, and one in seven will be at medium-to-high risk of flooding. uncertain

seven → accord → flooding

After the very wet and stormy winter in the UK in 2023-24, the Met Office estimated that such winters had gone from once in 80-year events to once in 20-year events. asserted

winters → estimate → events

Blanc also called on the government to avoid policy “kite flying” before John Healey’s first budget as chancellor on 28 October. asserted

Blanc → call → October

Aviva is a leading private pension provider, and speculation about changes to pensions led to a jump in withdrawals in the run-up to the budget in the last two years. asserted

speculation → lead → years

“Effectively we saw in the last year 30 times the normal withdrawal from pensions that we would normally see, which is clearly something which customers may regret afterwards because once you take your tax-free lump sum out, you can’t put it back in,” she said. uncertain

she → see → it

“So we would say be very, very thoughtful about the things that you are testing, thinking about.” asserted

you → say → that