Flood Re has moved a step closer to introducing Flood Performance Certificates, following the publication of research establishing a standardised framework for assessing household flood resilience.

The certificates, modelled on the UK's Energy Performance Certificates, are designed to provide a consistent assessment of a property's flood resilience. Flood Re believes they will support investment in property flood resilience measures while enabling insurers to recognise those improvements through more risk-reflective underwriting and, over time, potentially lower premiums.

Commissioned by Flood Re and undertaken by RAB Consultants and Sedgwick, the research sets out a standardised dataset combining property characteristics, flood hazard and existing property flood resilience measures. It also proposes a tiered assessment process, ranging from homeowner-submitted information to desktop and enhanced assessments for more complex risks.

It is hoped that the framework will provide the foundation for piloting the certificates by the end of this year. The aim is to integrate them with discounted premium structures by 2028, ahead of Flood Re's planned exit from the market in 2039.

The certificates will be designed to provide insurers with consistent property-level data on flood risk and resilience, helping to differentiate between risks, and recognise resilience investments as the market transitions away from the current scheme.

Jonathan Kassian, head of flood resilience, Flood Re commented: “Flood Re is committed to the introduction of Flood Performance Certificates, and the publication of these new guidelines marks a fundamental step towards that goal. FPCs have huge potential to help householders understand how to protect themselves from flooding, improving the resilience of the country’s housing stock and helping ensure flood insurance will remain accessible and available for households in the long-term.

“The measurement of a property’s resilience to flooding will give householders greater awareness of their home’s resilience and risk, add transparency to the market, and incentivise action. With the release of this data collection framework, we are nearing the completion of the standardisation phase of our FPC roadmap, and will start the pilot phase by the end of this year.”

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