Insurers call for more flood help

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The UK government needs to do more to protect against floods, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has claimed.

In a letter to Environment Secretary Hilary Benn, the ABI said it was worried that even normal rainfall could lead to further widespread flooding.

Heavy rain caused about £3bn worth of damage in the UK's wettest ever July.

Thousands of homes were submerged and while the ABI welcomed plans to bolster the UK's flood defences, it also wanted a review of how to solve the problem.

"The scale and impact of the floods has been massive," said Stephen Hadrill, director-general of the ABI.

"The cost to the industry of over 60,000 claims is approaching £3bn and more claims continue to come in."

'Alleviation measures'

According to the ABI, the government needs to spend £150m more on flood defences than it has already earmarked.

"Some defences will have been put under great pressure in recent events and will need to be checked and possibly strengthened," the ABI said in its letter, adding that some drains and watercourses were blocked due to inadequate maintenance.

This had led to some flooding taking place in areas not identified as being at risk.

Mr Hadrill said that "an urgent review is needed of how best to maintain urban and rural drainage".

This should include "whether expenditure is adequate, and how to co-ordinate better modelling of flood risk and planning of alleviation measures," he added.

July saw widespread flooding in central and southern England, with thousands of homes flooded across several counties.

There also were heavy rains in June, which affected cities including Hull.