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‘There can be costs to replace damaged belongings and repair your home after a flood.
Your insurer and the Guaranteed Standards Scheme could help you.
Claiming on your insurance
Most home insurance covers your buildings and belongings for flood-damage.
You should always contact your insurer to find out what you can claim for and what they’re able to help you with.
They may be able to provide help with cleaning up after the flood and help you to arrange repairs and replacements for things that have been lost or damaged by the flooding.
Help from the Guaranteed Standards Scheme
The Guaranteed Standards Scheme can help you when a flood has been caused by the public sewerage network.
Giving you the service you need
The Guaranteed Standards Scheme makes sure that all customers of water and sewerage companies are entitled to guaranteed minimum standards of service, as set out by the Government.
Goodwill payment for sewer flooding
If there’s been a flood inside or outside your home from the public sewerage network, you might be entitled to a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment.
We’ll visit you to assess the damage and we’ll let you know if you’re entitled to a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment.
Any payment you receive through the Guaranteed Standards Scheme is separate to any claim you make on your household insurance.
We’ll make the Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment application for you. You’ll normally be paid within 20 days.
The incident must be classed as sewer flooding to be eligible for a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment.
How much you can get from the Guaranteed Standards Scheme
Internal flooding
Minimum payment: £150
Maximum payment: £1000
If there’s been a flood inside your home caused by the public sewerage system, you’re entitled to a refund of the sewerage charge you’ve paid for the year.
This covers all areas of the home, including flooding of cellars and the spaces beneath suspended floors.
On average, our annual sewerage charge is £140, but we’ll pay you £150 as a minimum.
External flooding
Minimum payment: £75
Maximum payment: £500
If you’ve suffered flooding in your garden or driveway caused by a problem with the public sewerage system, you could be entitled to a payment of 50% of your sewerage charge.
On average, half our annual sewerage charge amounts to £70, but we’ll pay you £75 as a minimum.
This also applies to sheds or buildings on your property that aren’t lived in.
Internal and external flooding
Minimum payment: £150
Maximum payment: £1000
You can only receive one payment from the Guaranteed Standards Scheme for each flooding incident you experience.
When that happens, we’ll give you the higher payment.
What the Guaranteed Standards Scheme doesn’t cover
You won’t be entitled to a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment if the flood was caused by:
- extreme weather
- problems with privately owned sewerage pipes
- the wrong things getting flushed or poured down the drain (cooking fats, oils, wet wipes etc)
- bursting riverbanks that have prevented the sewers from flowing as they should.
Liability
If we make a Guaranteed Standards Scheme payment to you, it does not mean that we are liable for other claims you might make.