Blog: Real-time data helps brokers get on the front foot in flash floods

The recent heatwave, followed by storms, has heightened the risk of flash-flooding. Richie Toomey, of Lexis Nexis, explores how brokers can use data to mitigate the impact.

The 7 August 2020 was the hottest day in the UK for 17 years.  As sure as night follows day, when a heatwave hits, thunderstorms and flash floods tend to follow as torrential rain hits parched ground, leading to what is often intense, short-lived, localised flooding.

Flash floods known as pluvial floods are in some ways more of a challenge for the insurance sector than floods associated with rivers (fluvial) and coastal floods from storm surges. This is because it is often difficult to predict