Current status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 12 January 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of the (a) highest, (b) lowest and (c) average cost of flood insurance for existing residential properties in circumstances where SEPA's high emissions scenario has placed the homes in an area that is deemed to be at a high risk of flooding.
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the specific costs of flood insurance for residential properties. Insurance premiums are set by individual insurers who use commercial risk maps, developed by a number of providers, for pricing purposes.
SEPA’s flood risk maps are produced to inform public awareness, planning, and flood risk management. They are not commercial risk maps and are not developed for insurers to use to set premiums.
The Scottish Government continues to work in co-operation with the UK Government and the other devolved administrations to ensure flood insurance remains widely available and affordable. This includes engaging with the UK Flood Re scheme. Every insurer that offers home insurance in the UK must pay into the Flood Re scheme, raising £160m annually that is used to cover flood risks in home insurance policies for properties that might otherwise find it difficult to get insurance. Over 22,000 properties in Scotland were part of the scheme in 2025.
While insurance regulation is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government continues to engage with the UK Government and industry partners to ensure that the needs of households in Scotland are fully considered.