Flood damage bill 'could top £1bn'

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The Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimated that 27,000 homes and 5,000 businesses have been affected by the torrential rains that hit the UK earlier this week.

And the body warned that the overall cost of the damage could rise further, with more bad weather anticipated over the weekend.

The scale of the flooding led to a number of insurers putting into place crisis action plans to meet demand from stricken households.

As many as 8,600 claims were made on Monday alone from homeowners and business owners confronted with rising water, according to an earlier estimate from Abbey.

The ABI said vulnerable customers - the elderly, families and those with medical needs - were being prioritised. But it warned that normal response times would not be met in some cases due to the extent of the damage.

Stephen Haddrill, director general of the ABI, said: "Insurers are working as hard as possible to reach customers and to visit properties early.

"These events are so widespread that insurers are redeploying staff to affected areas, increasing staffing levels in call centres and undertaking visits to community centres. However, even emergency procedures cannot deliver our normal standards of service. We are doing all we can to help families, elderly customers and those with health difficulties first."

In a bid to help people affected by the flooding, financial services firm Halifax today announced that it is to make a £100,000 donation to the British Red Cross and local charities involved in flood relief.

It is also setting up a collection point in all of its branches so that customers can also make a donation.