For more information on the exhibition and the works for sale, visit their website: platformearth.org

Or visit their Instagram @platformearthuk

In this Q&A we explain what Flood Re, an initiative to make flood cover more affordable, is and how it affects you. If you have any further questions about Flood re or flood insurance, please contact our head of private clients Sarah Easom s.easom@hallettindependent.com

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Q. What is Flood Re and why am I paying a premium to them/has my flood risk been passed over to them?

A. Flood Re, a not for profit ‘fund’ or ‘pool’, is an initiative between the government and the insurance industry, was set up in 2016 in order to make flood cover more affordable for properties deemed to be at risk of flooding.

Any insurer who offers household cover must pay a ‘levy’ contribution into the Flood Re pool.  Insurers can then choose to cede the flood risk on certain policies totally to Flood Re.  If your insurer does this, they will tell you and also confirm the Flood Re premium (the entirety of which is paid to Flood Re, your insurers do not keep any).  The premium is a set premium based on the property’s Council Tax band.   The excess is £250.

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Q. Why do we need Flood Re?

A. The effects of climate change have increased episodes of flooding over the past 10 years and will continue to do so. An increasing number of properties have already been effected and will be continue to be. The severity of flood claims has also increased, with an average claim amount now said to be £50,000.

When a particular risk increases with the possibility of a large number of people being affected, it can become difficult for individual insurers to offer cover at affordable premiums – which is bad news for customers.  A re-insurance scheme was therefore set up to keep flood premiums affordable and allow insurers to continue to offer this cover.

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Q. Who tells me if my home is in a flood area?

A. Insurers calculate flood risk a number of different ways: using data from the environment agency, from flood mapping software plus data they have collected from their own claims and from other sources – like the Association of British Insurers ABI.  As insurers use different data they do all vary in approach.  However, the criteria for being able to cede a risk to Flood re is set.  See below for who qualifies for Flood Re.

You can check your flood risk here  https://www.gov.uk/check-long-term-flood-risk

Many insurers will consider your property at a high risk of flooding if you have a habitable basement as you are at risk from surface water flooding as was seen in the London flash floods in summer 2021.

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Q. How will my claim by dealt with by Flood Re?

A. The claim would be dealt with by your broker and/or insurers as with any other claim.  Flood Re will work behind the scenes with the insurers to re-imburse you for any payments that need to be made so there will be no need for you to contact Flood Re directly.

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Q. What cover do I need against flooding?

A. As well as cover for your buildings and contents, you should check your policy offers cover for temporary accommodation or for any rent you are still legally required to pay; and any rent you will no longer be paid until your property can be loved in again.  Check your policy for limits in relation to this.

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Q. Do I qualify for Flood Re?

A. There are some conditions applicable in order to qualify for Flood Re cover. The main ones are:

•   Properties that are held in the name of an individual, trust, or personal representative of an individual

•   Private residential properties

•   Properties that are lived in by the individual or their immediate families.  Alternatively, they must be unoccupied

•   Properties with a Council Tax Band A-H

•   Built before 1st January 2009

•   Property is located within the UK comprising England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (excluding the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands)

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Useful websites and further reading

Flood Re https://www.floodre.co.uk/

Ecclesiastical https://www.ecclesiastical.com/individuals/home-insurance/flood-re/

Axa XL  https://axaxl.com/-/media/axaxl/files/pdfs/campaign/reinsurance-outlook/downloads/rebranded-axa-xl-government-pools-report.pdf?sc_lang=en&hash=916BF269442F5335CA94CCBEB1667F03

Aviva https://www.aviva.co.uk/insurance/home-products/buildings-insurance/the-flood-re-scheme/

The following interview with Hallett Independent’s Associate Director Clare Pardy is kindly supplied by Plowden & Smith – painting, fine art and furniture restorers

In the wake of the devastating effects of Storm Dennis, and the news that over 1,650 homes across the UK have been flooded, we revisit an interview with Clare Pardy, Associate Director at Hallett Independent, where she discuss a 2019 flood in the South London home she shares with her husband Stephen.

The flood saw 85 gallons of water pass through Clare and Stephen’s Georgian house, causing substantial damage to the interiors and the furniture.

Clare and Stephen saw the benefit of having their insurance arranged through a specialist broker, Clare’s own firm, Hallett Independent and an expert insurer, AXA XL, which resulted in the smooth running of their claim from start to finish.‍

Interview with Sarah Giles, Director – Business Development

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SG‍

I understand you were on holiday and came home to discover your house had been flooded.‍

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CP‍

Yes, we had been in Berlin but luckily, we live next door to a pub and one of the regulars spotted water streaming down the inside of our first-floor drawing room window. He alerted the pub landlady who had our mobile number and rang us. We were at Cologne station, returning to London by train. We then contacted another neighbour (also the Chair of the Resident’s Committee and a real force of nature!) who immediately set to work with buckets and towels, turned off the water and called an emergency plumber who established the cause as a cracked cistern in the second-floor bathroom.‍

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SG‍

It sounds as if you were very lucky and have great neighbours!‍

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CP‍

Yes, we were and we do. A lot of people think that if you live in central London nobody knows their neighbours, but our square is very different, and we were enormously grateful.‍

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SG‍

So how much damage was actually done?‍

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CP‍

Well my husband calculated that 85 gallons went through the house which is pretty alarming. However, luckily, our guest bedroom is located immediately below the bathroom with the cracked cistern and it seems that the bed absorbed an enormous amount of the water. Although we have pictures on every wall, amazingly only one small etching got water damaged, and all our books escaped unscathed which again, we were astonished at.‍

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SG‍

Some of your furniture was, however, damaged?‍

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CP‍

Yes, a Regency demi-lune card table, an early 18th Century side table and a couple of leather armchairs were damaged, which is why I contacted Plowden & Smith.‍

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SG‍

Why did you choose Plowden & Smith?‍

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CP‍

Well, I have known and worked with Plowden & Smith for over 20 years in a professional capacity and I have seen the work that they have done for many clients over the years.

Our furniture isn’t particularly fine in an antique sense, but it is of its period and both my husband and I were very keen that items were not over-restored and that the patina was respected. The specialists who came to pick the items up immediately understood this, and we knew from the outset that we were in safe hands.

The armchairs (pictured below) had been designed by Stephen and handmade by an old and established firm of furniture makers in the East End and it was important that the calf leather that was used for the re-upholstery had the right feel. Plowden & Smith sent us some examples so we could agree on exactly the right colour and weight.‍

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SG‍

Were you tempted to move out and leave them all to it?‍

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CP‍

Not really, I know a lot of people do in those circumstances, but we felt it was important to be involved. When we bought the house in the 1990s, it was very unloved and had been given the 1970s treatment so we spent a number of years replacing windows, installing panelling, shutters and fireplaces and we were keen to ensure that the period feel we had so painstakingly achieved was not compromised.

Ironically, a friend who is a professional interiors photographer, had asked us whether he could photograph the house a year or so before the cistern went and there had been a big spread in English Home, which only came out a couple of months after the flood. This turned out to be very helpful as we were able to show the loss adjuster the photographs as a way of explaining what we wanted to achieve.

We have been so lucky because everything has gone according to plan and as someone who has been a specialist art and high net worth insurer for almost 40 years, I know that this is not always the case.

I have spent my whole career telling potential clients how important it is to appoint a specialist broker and insurer and it is rather gratifying to demonstrate from a personal perspective the wisdom of this advice!!

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Find out more about our household and private collections insurance: www.hallettindependent.com/households-and-private-collectors

At a time when art venues and events couldn’t be facing a more challenging set of circumstances and largely remain closed, Adam covers a broad range of insurance areas including business interruption and unoccupied premises.

“These insurances [business interruption] were primarily arranged to protect businesses affected by physical damage such as a fire or flood to help keep the business going. They’re not designed to meet the macro economic effects caused by a global pandemic. That said some policies may include cover for business interruption resulting from what we call a restriction in access to your premises – restricted access cover.”

To benefit from Adam’s full advice and some money saving tips around unoccupied premises watch the webinar below.

Like all sectors, the art world has recently seen disruption on a global scale. As the economy very gradually moves out of lockdown, one question has come up again and again: How do we manage the increased risk?

Hallett Independent’s Managing Director Adam Prideaux tackles this very topic in Articheck’s recent webinar.

Covering a broad range of subjects and trends in art insurance such as reinsurance, Business Interruption Insurance, Transit Coverage and protecting your premises – this webinar is vital watch for all gallery and museum owners tackling the challenges which the COVID-19 lockdown has presented to the art world.

The Guide aims to provide practical advice from tax, finance, legal and insurance experts on how best to tackle the short and medium-term challenges in the UK art market during the COVID-19 crisis.

Adam lends his expertise on the topic of claiming insurance for Business Interruption. Unsurprisingly, this is an area which has received a great deal of press attention in the last month, as the global pandemic has forced more and more galleries to close.

Adam says: “You should, in the first instance, contact your insurance broker to determine whether you have this cover as an extension to your Art Dealers Insurance Policy. There are a wide range of specialist art insurers, with differing terms, conditions and exclusions and no one policy is the same, as the insurance needs of galleries vary greatly.”

In addition, he covers important insurance aspects unoccupied premises and working from home. With galleries closed, does insurance remain in place unchanged? It’s essential to check whether you have any unoccupancy clauses in your gallery policy, Adam strongly advises.

Whilst Clare tackles the subject of Art Fair Cancellations. Inevitably more and more events have been affected by the UK’s lockdown and all fairs are now either cancelled or postponed.

In this situation, it’s important to check the scope of your cover. Clare advises: “As with Business Interruption cover, there are a wide range of specialist art insurers with differing terms, conditions and exclusions. The position will be further complicated by the stance adopted by the Fair organiser and the amount of refund and compensation they are proposing to offer. In some instances, fairs are offering to defer the paid- up stand costs to 2021.”

To read more and benefit from Adam and Clare’s full advice download ArtTactic’s full report.

Whether you run a gallery or are a private owner, to discuss any aspect of art insurance, don’t hesitate to get in contact.