Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to cases whereby insurance companies are refusing to provide cover to property owners who made claims on their policies in the aftermath of last year's flooding; the measures he will take to ensure that these property owners receive insurance cover from insurance providers operating here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39046/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The decision about whether to renew cover in any insurance situation is a commercial matter for insurance companies, which is considered on a case by case basis, as this allows the insurance company to properly assess the risk they are accepting. Neither I nor the Central Bank has any influence over this matter. While I am aware of instances where insurance companies have refused to cover some property owners who made claims on their policies in the aftermath of last year's flooding, the Irish Insurance Federation has informed my Department that the insurance industry is very reluctant to discontinue flood cover for existing policyholders, and would generally only do so where there have been repeated flooding claims.

The Deputy should note that a central element of the Government's response to this issue is flood prevention measures. In this regard the Government allocated 50m euro for flood risk management activities for 2010, which is administered by the Office of Public Works. This increased allocation allows for delivery of a range of Capital Works schemes throughout the country. A concerted effort to roll out schemes, taking account of the seriousness of the underlying flooding problem in the different localities, is currently under way.