Richest Homeowners Are Unintended Winners of UK Flood Plan
Properties by the River Thames after the river burst its banks following heavy rain near Kew Bridge in London in 2016.
Photographer: Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesIt’s not how the program was supposed to work. But thanks to a legal anachronism, Britain’s state-backed plan intended to help those most exposed to flooding has ended up favoring the country’s richest property owners.
Economists at the Bank of England have already suggested that Flood Re, the UK’s flood insurer of last resort, may not be channeling enough support to those who need it most. But the full scale of the distortions isn’t well understood, according to the program’s chief executive.