Zurich warns that the Pitt Review needs to be implemented fully to protect from future flood devastation

Anna Fleming, Property Claims Director, Zurich said “We welcome the comprehensive recommendations within Sir Michael Pitt’s report, and now we will focus our efforts on collaborating as an industry to ensure that it is implemented.   Implementing a ‘partial’ solution is not a sustainable option, and will not prevent a repeat of the dramatic events seen last summer.   As an insurer that has a significant market presence in the municipal, commercial and personal lines sectors, we’ve seen the how the impact on individuals and businesses was exacerbated by the failure of key services such as water and power. The threat to the country’s infrastructure must not be underestimated. 

“It is very easy to view the event through a spreadsheet and concentrate on the numbers, but there are other significant effects on families, businesses and communities.  We have heard about the social costs – elderly people unable to return to their homes, children unable to study effectively, and the large number of individuals and businesses who were either uninsured or underinsured across the country.  The impact on this population has been severe and in some circumstances, life-changing.

“Hard choices will have to be made, but from a political perspective, it is difficult to see the electorate accepting a party who did not seek to address the causes of the floods which had such a marked effect on large parts of the country.   It would be an extremely positive ‘next step’ to see Government publish an action plan as outlined in the review, as this will set-out clear responsibilities and ensure that these recommendations become a reality.”