Home insurance prices skyrocket due to floods

After the numerous episodes of flooding last winter, the price of home insurance has already increased by more than 10% since the start of the year in the region.

Already hard hit by the floods of last autumn and winter, the inhabitants of Nord-Pas-de-Calais must now face the increase in the prices of their home insurance due to these floods which are costly for insurance companies. .

According to a simulation, in Blendecques, one of the municipalities most affected by the floods, a family with two children would normally pay 220 euros for home insurance in a 4-room house of 115 m2. But after the four declared natural disasters, the cost reached 334 euros.

Vigilance for policyholders

The climate catastrophe premium also increases after these weather phenomena. “It costs you today 12% of your home insurance contract. On January 1, it will cost you 20%. Where, on average, we contributed 20 euros, per year and per contract, per year Next time, it will be around 40 euros, per year and per contract,” explains Stéphanie Duraffourd, spokesperson for Assurland.com, to BFM Grand Lille.

Maif claims to have processed more than 1,200 files since November, at an estimated cost of 20 million euros. And this affects homes. Home insurance has already increased by more than 10% since the start of the year, making Hauts-de-France the 4th most expensive region in mainland France.

UFC Que Choisir recommends that policyholders remain vigilant. “We encourage them to use competition, by going either to our comparator, or to another comparator. But by being very careful to look at the exclusion clauses of the contracts, and also the franchises,” explains Jean-Christophe Lampe , President of the UFC Que Choisir of Hauts-de-France.

More than 45,000 residents affected since November

In Nord-Pas-de-Calais, almost one in two municipalities is located in a flood zone. Several homes have recently been purchased as part of the Barnier fund. The Saint-Omer agglomeration community notably signed on September 23 the purchase of seven new houses in Audomarois, affected by floods.

Since the beginning of November 2023, more than 200 municipalities and more than 450,000 inhabitants have suffered episodes of flooding.

Even summer didn’t give them any respite. Strong storms and heavy downpours fell on both departments in August. The water once again reached some houses, but without causing significant damage.

The concerns of residents and elected officials regarding these natural disasters remain the same, almost a year after the start of these episodes. Mayors of the region denounce a lack of resources and already fear the coming winter.