Buyers of newly-built houses may be issued with certificates stating that their property is flood proof under new proposals being considered by insurers, mortgage lenders and builders, a report revealed.
It said that if the scheme were to go ahead, insurers would be able to demand to see the certificate before providing home insurance.
The ABI said it was in talks with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Research Establishment over the proposals.
Malcolm Tarling of the ABI said: "We're not against properties being built, just those that are built in flood-prone areas without adequate protection being put in place by builders."
According to the report, Bernard Clark, of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said it would be particularly keen to see the certificates implemented for houses that were built off site and then transported to their plots.
"Although we understand how traditional properties withstand flooding, it is not so clear when talking about non-traditional methods of construction," he said.
"A certificate would reassure everyone that the construction would stand up to the flooding threat because, in the end, if it isn't insurable, it isn't mortgageable."
The follows hard on the heels of the government's proposals for the creation of 9,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway, an area at high risk from flooding.
Currently, at least 500,000 people live in flood-prone areas across the country. Last January, the ABI announced that insurers would no longer automatically provide cover to properties in high-risk areas, concluded the report.
