Expert: 'No flood cover by 2080'

Large parts of the UK will be "uninsurable in terms of flooding" by 2080, a leading climate expert has warned.

Dr Julian Salt, director of Climate Solutions, said that between 200 million and a billion people globally would be at risk from flooding if nothing is done to reverse the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Salt has advised the ABI and the CII on climate change issues.

Speaking at a Lloyd's lecture this week, Salt reminded insurers that losses from natural disasters had massively increased over the past decade. The insurance industry would not be able to pay for such losses by the middle of the century, he said.

Hurricane Katrina cost insurers over $60bn. Salt said: "If the insurance industry continues to use past models as a bases for claims management, it is in danger of going bust.

"Insurers need to start 'back engineering' from future claims and plough investments into environmentally sustainable companies."

Alan Gairns, underwriting manager at Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA) said that while there were differing messages from scientists regarding the extent of environmental change, insurers such as Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) "want to continue to offer flood cover".

' Insurance Times has organised a major conference on the implications of climate change. Forces of Nature is taking place at the Grocers' Hall, London EC2 on 20 March. Contact Sarah Pope on 020 7618 3470 or sarah.pope@instimes.co.uk for more details.

Architect's vision on the flood plain
Meanwhile, consultant architect Sir Terry Farrell has advised that flooding issues relating to the controversial Thames Gateway development needed to be handled creatively.

Terry Farrell & Partners produced a "vision" document for the Thames Gateway but has no formal role in the project.

Farrell said he was confident that a great deal of the sites earmarked for development were above the flood plain, but he also argued that flooding could be used as an opportunity to mould the landscape by creating wetlands.

The government's decision to build 200,000 new homes in the South East has thrown the issue of flooding into sharp relief, particularly in the Thames Gateway area. The ABI has estimated that flooding in the Thames Gateway region could cost as much as £12bn.