Insurance and beyond: how collaboration could improve outcomes for people affected by flooding

By Mhairi Sharp, CEO, National Emergencies Trust
19th March 2025

The recent Conduit conference, Insurance in a Changing World, highlighted some of the most pressing challenges of our time—flooding, food security, energy resilience, and global security. Among these, flooding in the UK remains a growing crisis that demands a collective response. While insurance plays a critical role in mitigating financial losses, it does not address the profound psychosocial impact of flooding on individuals and communities.

As the conference highlighted, this is where insurers have a significant role in strengthening whole-of-society resilience. Thinking beyond economic resilience and into social resilience means recognising that financial recovery alone is not enough. A community’s ability to rebuild effectively after a flood depends on emotional well-being, mental health support, and a sense of collective strength.

The opportunity is for the insurance industry to embrace the complexities of disaster response and integrate social resilience into its policies. But to offer truly holistic support to those affected by flooding will require greater cross-sector collaboration – before, during and after disasters. So, imagine my delight when I was invited to chair a panel at the conference on exactly this idea.

Panellists Catherine Thomas (Clarion Housing), Sharon Pickford (National Trust), Heather Shepherd MBE (Flooded People UK) and David Mazzuca (National Centre for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia Climate School) discussed the benefits of collaboration beyond the borders of the insurance sector. Here are my top three takeaways:

1. We need to take a lead from those with lived experience

One of the founding principles of the National Emergencies Trust was to put lived experience at the heart of our work. In fact, in the year leading up to the launch of the Trust in 2019 we conducted a Survivor Consultation with more than 120 people impacted by historic disasters. The findings from that work directly shaped our operating model during emergencies, and influence what we focus on between appeals.

Today, members of the Trust’s Survivors Advisory Panel (SAP) help us to prioritise where we spend our time. It is with thanks to them that we’re in the midst of our Stories After The Storms study looking at the support offered to people impacted by flooding at different stages, and whether this can be improved. By asking flood survivors about their support, the study aims to offer all those in flooding response and resilience-building, including insurers, a survivors-eye perspective that can add value to their own efforts. It will, of course, also inform our own policies and decision-making.

Long-standing SAP member, Heather Shepherd MBE, underscored the value of the survivor voice at last week’s conference. Through lived experience of repeated flooding she has learned that support should come in many shapes. Financial compensation is vital, but alongside it, peer-to-peer support from those who’ve experienced flooding can be invaluable. It’s why she’s just co-founded new charity, Flooded People UK: to facilitate more of these peer connections. Greater collaboration between the insurance industry and response and resilience-building agencies could help brilliant work like this happen even faster.

2. We need to improve psychosocial support

The psychosocial impact of flooding is what makes peer support so vital. Flooding leaves lasting emotional and psychological scars. That much is becoming patently clear from the early findings of the Stories After The Storms research. For the unfortunate but growing minority of people whose homes are repeatedly affected by flood water, those scars never have time to heal. They are perpetually tackling the physical and practical impacts of flooding, while in a perpetual state of anxiety about the next flood event.

While insurers focus on covering financial losses, the human cost too often remains unaddressed. The National Emergencies Trust was conceived to help bridge that gap. When a flooding event arises that meets our appeal activation criteria, we’re here to act fast: to launch a nationwide fundraising appeal for those affected. Donations from appeal supporters will be distributed directly, and quickly, to individuals, in the form of financial gifts. They’ll also help to fund grassroots charities in the area affected that can offer localised support services, including vital psychosocial support.

By working collaboratively and closely with all response bodies in the aftermath of flooding events, we can share knowledge and networks to ensure those affected receive holistic care as soon as possible.

3. We need as much compassion as possible

Lastly, what ‘care’ needs to look like isn’t just about the big things: the insurance payment, the charitable gift or the formal support services. It’s also about being as compassionate as possible with people whose lives have been turned upside down – in each-and-every interaction. This is where the insurance industry has a chance to set the tone because so often their representatives will be among the first to visit flooded people.

To sum up, understanding the complexities of disaster response—not just in economic terms but also in human impact—will allow insurers to design better policies, offer more empathetic customer support, and align their services with real community needs. The last few years have shown that the insurance industry is willing to evolve in this direction – the next step is deepening its collaboration with others, including the Trust and survivor communities, to create a truly resilient UK—one where financial and psychosocial recovery go hand in hand

If you’ve been affected by flooding and would like to share your experience of support, take part in the National Emergencies Trust’s Stories After The Storms study.