Press releases

Deloitte comments on the UK home insurance market, 30 years on from the Great Storm

16 October 2017

James Rakow, insurance partner at Deloitte, said:

"The Great Storm of 1987 was the most costly windstorm the UK insurance industry had seen to date. Claims reached £1.4bn (gross of reinsurance), which equated to nearly 50 per cent of total property insurance premiums. By comparison, home insurance premiums in 2016 were close to £6bn meaning the Great Storm today would have seen gross domestic claims of almost £3bn; or more than 100 pounds for each UK household.

“In 1987, the insurance industry struggled to deal with the vast number of claims and at least one major insurer resorted to communicating with policyholders by placing newspaper ads asking them to submit claims. Today’s insurers will be considering how well prepared they are for a repeat event - will their supply chain cope with the number of claims and will their digital communication plans, including use of social media, be successful?

“Whilst the UK home insurance industry has made a profit every year since 2007, when the Summer Floods created a surge of insurance claims, the 30th anniversary of the Great Storm is a timely reminder of the danger natural events can pose.”

End

Notes to Editors

About Deloitte
In this press release references to “Deloitte” are references to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (“DTTL”) a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTTL and its member firms.

Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NWE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.

For more information, please visit www.deloitte.co.uk

Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. 

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