The mutual insurer specialises in insuring the countryside and said that around 90% of claims are for personal home insurance due to significant storm damage. This includes fallen trees damaging property, damage to roofs and tiles, water ingress and chimneys being blown over.

There were 170 claims for vehicles and just over 150 claims for flood-related damage.

The estimated costs are almost double that of Storm Doris which wreaked havoc on the UK during February 2017, resulting in over £11.5 million worth of pay-outs to NFU Mutual’s customers. The November 2019 flooding cost the insurer £3 million.

Storm Dennis

While Storm Ciara caused widespread damage across the UK and a higher number of storm claims to NFU Mutual, Storm Dennis has brought concentrations of heavy rain in localised areas, causing more flood claims than storm claims.

NFU Mutual has received more than 1,000 claims for Storm Dennis so far. It is too early to estimate the total cost as customers continue to make claims and loss adjusters visit customers to assess the damage.

However, the majority of claims are for flood damage to homes, which is typically much more expensive to repair and often averages in the region of £20,000. The total damage is not likely to be as costly as Storm Desmond in 2015, which cost the insurer £36 million.

Comment

Paul Branch, head of claims at leading rural insurer, NFU Mutual, said: “Storm Ciara is one of the worst storms to hit the UK for several years and we’ll be paying out in the region of £20 million to help our customers get back into their homes and businesses as quickly as possible.

“Suffering damage or being displaced from your home can be an extremely distressing time, so we move rapidly to help our communities, arranging alternative accommodation and making emergency payments.

“The number of severe flood warnings is decreasing with water starting to make its way to rivers, so thankfully we’re expecting the situation on the ground to start getting better for most regions.

“We remain concerned about customers in Tewkesbury, Wales and Herefordshire and the Lake District, particularly given early indications for Storm Ellen taking us through to the weekend, so we’re monitoring the situation and preparing to engage our teams again.”

NFU Mutual provides flood resilience repairs as standard in all of its home insurance policies with buildings cover, meaning cover has been provided to nearly 400,000 properties since its introduction in 2018.

Flood victims can claim up to £5,000 to protect their home from future damage if the initial flood caused at least £10,000 worth of damage. It includes measures such as moving plug sockets higher up the wall and installing one-way valves on waste drains to stop backflow coming through toilets and sinks.