THOUSANDS of East Yorkshire homeowners face being blacklisted again by insurance firms as not enough is being done to prevent a repeat of the 2007 floods.
The Association Of British Insurers (ABI) has warned firms may refuse to provide cover after the Coalition Government slashed flood defences by millions of pounds.
Today, Malcolm Tarling, of the ABI, warned homes across Hull and the East Riding could be left without insurance cover to protect them against floods.
He said: "If no action is taken, there is a risk homes and businesses in Hull and the surrounding area may not get insurance.
"This is a huge problem as 95 per cent of homes in Hull are in a flood-risk area. This is a frightening time.
"We need answers and we need them before the next flood hits Hull."
Tony Peterson, 65, suffered �35,000 of damage to his home in Seaton Road, Hessle, after the 2007 floods. He spent six months in a caravan and was one of many initially refused cover by his insurance company when he attempted to renew his policy, until the Mail stepped in.
Mr Peterson said: "We still have cover, but we are in constant fear of losing it.
"I don't feel the Government is doing enough to support the insurance industry. If nothing is done then we could be uninsurable.
"I haven't really seen anything being done in the area to stop 2007 happening again."
Around 15,000 homes were devastated by floods in East Yorkshire, with some of the worst hit areas including Hull, Burstwick, Hessle, Willow Grove in Beverley and Hedon.
A year later, the previous government thrashed out an agreement with the insurance industry allowing homes in flood-risk areas affordable cover.
The "statement of principles" committed the Government to investment, preventing inappropriate development in flood risk areas, raising awareness and providing information about how to obtain flood insurance.
It came after the Mail launched its Play Fair campaign to tackle massive insurance hikes and our Never Again ten-point action plan, presented to the Government.
But with the agreement running out in 2013, the ABI is demanding urgent action from the Government to come up with a new strategy.
Mr Tarling said: "This Government has reduced the flood defence funding by eight per cent as part of the overall cuts. As far as we are concerned, we have reached crunch time."
The ABI is also concerned about the lack of clarity over plans to tackle flooding at a local level.
Mr Tarling said: "The new Government wants local partnerships and local solutions to flooding but this poses more questions – who will make the decisions and who will allocate the money?
"How is everyone expected to be aware of the Government's plans and what to do in a flooding emergency if they're not informed?"
Mr Tarling insists insurance companies are businesses and not charities, but he wants everyone to have flooding cover.
He said: "The average damage to properties in East Yorkshire during the 2007 floods was between �20,000 to 40,000. This can't be sustained.
"People in East Yorkshire have to put pressure on their local MPs and express their concerns.
"The Government must begin to communicate its intentions for the long-term vision."
Insurance company Aviva has backed the ABI's calls.
A spokesman said: "This has to be part of a bigger conversation in which everyone understands their responsibility in flood-risk management."
Hull North MP Diana Johnson has warned premiums are becoming unaffordable for her constituents.
She said: "The insurance market is effectively closed in Hull. People contact me every time their premium payments go up.
"In 2007, it wasn't just the river overflowing that caused problems. The sewage system couldn't cope with the volume of water.
"So we need extra capacity and the local authority has obligations to provide this, but there are cuts to those areas, too."
But the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insists work on a new strategy is well under way.
A spokeswoman said: "Consultation is ongoing and we are working with insurers to produce a new strategy after 2013.
"We are committed to finding a new long-term strategy and we are working on a new agreement."
The Environment Agency says it is continuing to carry out important flood defence work.
Hull City Council's flood risk planning manager Steve Wragg said: "We have been invited to represent local authorities in a national task group chaired by Defra to look at flood risk management, insurance issues and work with a wide range of representatives, including the ABI, to investigate ways of effectively managing future flood-risk insurance provision."
Dave Waudby, head of infrastructure and facilities at East Riding Council, said: "We take the matter of flood prevention very seriously and since 2007, a number of schemes have been implemented.
"The rainstorm of 2007 has been described by specialists as unprecedented.
"The council believes it is unreasonable for insurance companies to, therefore, seek to withdraw cover or take any other significant action simply as a consequence of the storms of 2007."
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