Minister for Trade & Investment, Lord Stephen Green, visited the South West on 16 January 2012 to speak at a regional National Challenge: Exporting for Growth event, hosted by South West Chambers of Commerce, UK Trade & Investment and sponsored by PwC and HSBC.

Lord Green said: “Government alone cannot turn round the export performance of this country.

“We need to work with those that have most to do with small companies, can help them to understand the benefits of exporting, and can then help make it a reality.”

“Our future prosperity will not come from relying on domestic markets alone. Across the world there are markets that are showing strong, long-term growth. We want to make sure that UK firms are not just trading abroad but thriving there. UKTI has a crucial role to play and will seek to double its client base to around 50,000 over the next three years.”

At the event, delegates were able to take part in a panel discussion with successful South West exporters including Reg Hankey, CEO of Pittards PLC, Simon Phelps, MD of Fluvial Innovations Ltd and Dr. Andrew Robertson of Gooch & Housego.

Fluvial Innovations award-winning flood prevention barrier, Floodstop has been successfully exported throughout the globe. Fluvial’s Floodstop barrier is a much improved method for flood protection compared to ubiquitous sandbagging techniques.

Further details of the event can be viewed here: http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/home/item/244640.html

Householders in areas where there is a high risk of floods could be left without insurance, along with properties they cannot sell.

They have been caught in the crossfire as the Government and insurance industry fall out over the best way to ensure flood cover is available in future. The two sides are wrangling over what happens when the current agreement on flood insurance expires in June next year. Insurers may then decline cover or impose terms so onerous that up to 300,000 homeowners in the properties most at risk cannot afford it.

Mary Dhonau, a flood prevention campaigner and former chief executive of the National Flood Forum, says: ‘My concern is that we end up with some sort of free market in flood cover, which means that those at highest risk of flooding end up with premiums that are so high they become uninsurable. ‘This would have knock-on effects with people unable to get a mortgage or sell their property and the danger is entire communities end up blighted.’

At present, the homeowner and the insurer are effectively stuck with each other. The agreement, first struck in 2000 and renewed twice since, commits insurers to providing cover where flood defences that can safeguard against a flood once in 75 years exist or are planned within five years. Homes that are built after January 2009 are excluded. Even under this deal, premiums have risen and insurers have imposed flood excesses, the portion of a loss paid by the customer, reaching £5,000 or £10,000.

But insurers agree to offer some cover. In future they may refuse to quote at all. Otto Thoresen, director general of the Association of British Insurers, says: ‘We have told governments since 2008 that the Statement of Principles deal will not be renewed in 2013. It is long past its sell-by date, with a stealth subsidy from some low-risk customers to those in high flood risk areas.’
Not all insurance companies are bound by the deal, with new entrants to the market free to ignore homes at high-risk of flooding, giving them a competitive advantage over established firms. This is one reason why the ABI says the entire approach must be rethought.

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs published an update on its flood prevention planning just before Christmas. It wants to continue to improve flood warnings and says more than £2 billion will be spent on defences against flooding and coastal erosion over the next few years. But Defra ruled out State involvement in helping to pay for private sector losses from flooding. Richard Benyon, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Natural Environment, said: ‘The priority will continue to be to invest in reducing the risk of people and properties being flooded in the first place, rather than redirecting funds into subsidising insurance premiums.’

Malcolm Tarling, spokesman for the ABI, says: ‘The Government has ruled out the one thing that we want to explore, which is the possibility of some sort of risk-pooling for those properties that are in highest danger of flooding.’

There is a precedent. The Government acts as an insurer of last resort for terrorism risks under the Pool Re scheme set up in 1992. Insurers say a similar model might help maintain flood cover. Dhonau says: ‘I fear there is a disconnect between insurers and the Government. We need someone in Whitehall to pick this up and pull things together.’

In the meantime, the wrangle has left homeowners such as David and Romaine Cape nervous about whether they will be able to get cover in future. The couple were forced out of their bungalow in Cockermouth, Cumbria, during the severe floods of November 2009 when water from the River Derwent poured into the void under the house, causing floors in all the rooms to buckle.
Putting the damage right cost more than £30,000. While the couple remain insured by Lloyds Bank through broker AA Insurance, they are concerned about what will happen in 2013.

David, 61, who works part time as a will researcher for a firm of solicitors, says: ‘I suspect the problems for us could start in 2013. I’d hope that the insurers and the Government can find a way of extending their “gentlemen’s agreement” on flood insurance.’ He says it cannot be beyond the resources of the State to do more to support communities at risk.

David says: ‘The Government can find money to support development and aid projects around the world, so why not help closer to home?’

Fluvial Innovations comment:

“If you are unfortunate and not able to obtain flood insurance you have no choice but to look into your own protection measures. The FLOODSTOP Modular Flood Barrier is cheaper and far more effective than sandbags. The barrier can be rapidly deployed by one person. It doesn’t need to be bolted to the ground and the units, are simply connected using slide-in keys. The barrier is re-useable, unlike ineffective sandbagging techniques.

To view a comprehensive datasheet detailing FLOODSTOP please CLICK HERE.

No membrane was used in the photo above – the system was simply placed straight onto the ground!

Earlier this week Fluvial Innovations carried out a large demonstration to councillors in Scotland. The demonstration proved how the award-winning Floodstop barrier is far more effective than sandbags. Sandbags are costly, slow to assemble, ineffective and non-repeatable.

Fluvial Innovations Ltd
2‐3 Harwell road
Nuffield Industrial Estate
Poole
Dorset
BH17 0GE
Tel: 01202 678580
info@fluvial‐innovations.co.uk
www.fluvial‐innovations.co.uk

Fluvial Innovations comment:

This is a fantastic move in the progression of the company and will allow us to further develop innovative technologies like our award-winning flood protection barrier Floodstop.

Download a free copy of homeprotect’s flooding e-book from homeprotect.co.uk.

Emergency services received hundreds of calls, with parts of County Durham and Northumberland worst-hit. Northumberland County Council and the fire service responded to dozens of requests for sandbags to the local community.

Flood alerts were still in place for the rivers Pont and Blyth. Several roads were shut for a time on Saturday and two properties struck by lightning, but there were no reports of injuries.

Several millimetres of rain fell in just a few hours, with Durham and Darlington Fire Service describing conditions as “severe”. A spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: “Heavy rainfall throughout the day caused areas of surface water flooding.

Fluvial Innovations comment:

Sandbagging still seems to be the last port of call for flood protection. However there is extremely strong evidence that demonstrates that using sandbags to assembly flood protection barriers to protect property is completely ineffective.

Problems with sandbags:

• Time consuming and labour intensive to assemble into flood defence barriers
• Prone to leakage
• Can only be used once, not reusable
• Viral and bacterial infections often present in flood water get transposed onto the porous hessian sacks.

The Pitt Review:

In the summer of 2007, Britain suffered devastating floods that cost the economy an estimated £3 billion. After the floods, Sir Michael Pitt was asked by British Ministers to conduct an independent review of the flooding that took place. The floods caused 13 deaths, affected nearly 50,000 homes and 7,000 businesses in England and involved more than 80 local authorities. His report set out glaring gaps in the UK’s readiness to cope with widespread and prolonged flooding and he made 92 subsequent recommendations to make sure communities are better protected.

Two of these recommendations made a direct reference to the use of sandbags as a flood defence measure. ES.49 – “…The Review was unable to obtain any significant evidence that sandbags were particularly effective during the 2007 summer floods in providing protection to individual households.” ES.50 – “…The general provision of sandbags should be phased out in favour of better products such as kite-marked flood boards, air bricks and other forms of temporary defence”

“The FLOODSTOP Modular Flood Barrier is cheaper and far more effective than sandbags. The barrier can be rapidly deployed by one person. It doesn’t need to be bolted to the ground and the units, are simply connected using slide-in keys. The barrier is re-useable, unlike sandbags; and it works, unlike sandbags. Local authorities are wasting a large percentage of their budgets on sandbags that are prone to excessive leakage, slow to assemble and can only be used once.”

Since 1955, Presray has become the USA’s leader in protective door systems. They supply many proven and successful flood defence systems.

Britain’s second- largest insurer said it is already holding talks with the authorities to explain the need for further public money to be spent on safeguarding the UK against floods. Unlike many countries, UK insurers have agreed to provide cover for all communities where flood defences exist or are planned within the next five years. But the deal expires at the end of 2012.

Aviva pointed out that the ‘private sector is delivering their end’ of the bargain so the onus will be on the government to find some cash, even though it is on an austerity drive. ‘If the government is prepared to invest, the industry could and should do another deal,’ said Aviva’s UK boss Mark Hodges.

‘If they don’t step up to the plate there are going to be some very difficult conversations.’

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners and businesses in high risk areas will worry that they won’t get insurance if a deal can’t be reached, but Aviva says government ‘is not blind’ to their concerns.

Fluvial Innovations comment:

As many as 2.5million homes are at risk from flooding in Britain (according to the EA). If an increasing number of these home owners are unable to obtain insurance against flooding you don’t have to be a genius to work out that when another devastating flood event occurs a great deal of home owners will be in financial and emotional peril.

Home and business owners should look to protect their own assets with demountable flood preventions systems, such as the award-winning Floodstop flood barrier.