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LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva
called on Wednesday for urgent action from policymakers,
developers and insurers to protect homes and businesses from the
impact of climate change, saying most were ill-prepared to
handle extreme weather.
It said more than 570,000 new homes had been built since
2016 that would not be resilient to future high temperatures and
more than 70,000 had been built since 2009 on flood plains.
"A cultural shift is needed to better understand the risks
from extreme weather and prepare for its impacts," said Adam
Winslow, chief executive of Aviva UK & Ireland General
Insurance.
"We need collective engagement from government, local
authorities, industry and home and business owners to bring
about this shift," he said.
Flooding has devastated parts of Western Europe since last
week, with regions in Germany and Belgium among the worst hit.
Aviva, whose flood mapping data shows 19% of British
properties are at risk from surface water flooding, said
planning regulations should be strengthened to stop properties
being built on flood plains.
There should also be targeted measures to close the
insurance gap, or lack of insurance, particularly among renters,
protecting those most threatened by climate change, Aviva added.
Research by the insurer showed only 9% of people felt fully
prepared for a flood in their home, while 38% of British
householders believed climate change would have an impact on
their homes in the next year and 57% thought it would have in
impact in next 10 years.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop; Editing by Edmund
Blair)
