Climate change is increasingly influencing how insurers assess and price risk globally, including in Kenya.
With more frequent extreme weather events such as floods and storms, insurers are placing greater emphasis on risk-based pricing and more detailed risk assessments for properties located in vulnerable areas.
This may translate into higher insurance premiums in flood-prone locations, revised underwriting guidelines, or additional requirements for risk mitigation measures such as improved drainage systems or flood protection infrastructure.
At the same time, insurers are promoting greater risk awareness and resilience by encouraging property owners to adopt preventive measures that reduce the impact of disasters.
Property Insurance Covers
Britam typically offers several types of property insurance covers designed to protect homeowners and landlords from financial losses.
Homeowners Insurance (Domestic Package)
This cover protects the structure of a house against risks such as fire, floods, storms, earthquakes and other insured perils. The policy is divided into several sections that clients can choose from depending on their needs.
Coverage options may include protection against theft, employee injuries, rental income payable or receivable, and third-party liabilities that may arise from individuals who come into contact with the property.
Landlord Insurance
Landlord insurance can also be purchased under this policy for property owners who do not live in the property but rent it out. Designed specifically for rental property owners, this cover protects the building against damage and may also compensate for loss of rental income if the property becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event.
Commercial Property Insurance
For businesses, Britam also offers Commercial Property Insurance, also known as fire commercial cover. This insurance protects commercial buildings, equipment and stock against risks such as fire, floods, burglary and natural disasters.
These insurance covers allow property owners to transfer the financial risk of disasters to insurers, ensuring they can recover more quickly when unexpected events occur.
Despite the availability of these covers, many businesses and homeowners remain unaware that property insurance policies often include protection against natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes and storms.
Claim Approval
A flooding claim is usually approved if the damage results from an insured event under the policy, such as heavy rainfall or river overflow, and if the policyholder has complied with the terms of the insurance contract.
Key factors insurers consider include:
- Whether the insurance policy was active and premiums were fully paid
- Whether the cause of damage falls within the insured perils
- Whether the items lost through floods were adequately declared at the time the insurance policy was taken
However, property owners sometimes make mistakes during the claims process that complicate or delay compensation.
Common mistakes include delaying the reporting of damage, failing to properly document losses and starting repair works before the insurer’s loss assessor has inspected the property. These actions can complicate the claims verification process and may sometimes lead to partial or rejected claims.
Flood Risk
When underwriting property insurance policies, insurers assess several factors to determine the level of flood risk.
These include the location of the property, proximity to rivers or other water bodies, historical flooding records, drainage infrastructure in the area and the elevation or topography of the land.
Insurers may also evaluate the construction standards of a building, including whether it has proper foundations, adequate drainage systems and flood-resilient construction materials.
In areas that frequently experience flooding or have poor drainage systems, insurers may apply higher premiums and deductibles, impose specific policy conditions or require risk mitigation measures before offering cover.
Common Misunderstandings
One of the most common misunderstandings among property owners is the belief that all types of water damage are automatically covered by insurance.
In reality, insurance generally covers sudden and accidental flooding events but may not compensate for damage caused by poor maintenance, blocked drainage systems or structural weaknesses in a property.
Property owners are therefore expected to take reasonable care of their buildings even when they have insurance cover. Providing accurate information to insurers during the claims process also helps speed up claims assessment and payment. Withholding information when filing a claim can slow down or jeopardise compensation.
Do Standard Home Insurance Policies Cover Floods?
In Kenya, most comprehensive home or property insurance policies include flood damage as part of the standard cover under risks described as “storm, tempest and flood.”
This means that if a home is damaged by heavy rains, overflowing rivers or flash floods, the insurance policy may compensate the homeowner for repair or rebuilding costs, subject to the policy’s terms, conditions and warranties.
However, only a small percentage of homeowners in Kenya have home insurance. As a result, when disasters such as floods occur, many people suffer significant financial losses.
This gap is evident from the relatively low number of insurance claims reported compared to the widespread damage often witnessed during major flooding events.
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