Homeowners to Foot £2.5bn Flood Bill

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners will be hit with higher household insurance premiums as a second wave of flash floods gives insurers their biggest ever claims bill.

As a summer of appalling weather brought another day of travel chaos yesterday, analysts said that household insurance rates were expected to rise sharply for the first time in more than a decade.

The torrential downpours and floods across the country left many roads and railways too treacherous for travel. Severe conditions caused disruption and cancellations on train services throughout Wales, the South West and southern England.

During the worst of the weather, 141 flights were cancelled at Heathrow and flooding closed 25 Tube stations in London.