A CLEVEDON homeowner has been refused insurance on his house because of the risk of flooding - despite millions of pounds being spent on the town's sea defences

A CLEVEDON homeowner has been refused insurance on his house because of the risk of flooding - despite millions of pounds being spent on the town's sea defences.Trevor Morgan, of the Tynings, was surprised when he asked for a quote to insure his property he was told the company did not give quotes for people living in that part of Clevedon.Mr Morgan, who is also a town councillor, applied to a couple of other companies only to be turned down on the flood risk basis, before finding a company to insure his home.Mr Morgan said: "I only realised the problem when I went to renew my home insurance with a different company."Despite millions of pounds being spent on improving the sea defences at Marshalls Bank, when I punched my postcode into the Environment Agency website, my address still came up as having a moderate risk of flooding."A lot of money has been spent and you can see a visible increase in the height of the bank but it doesn't seem to make any difference when it comes to being a flood risk to some insurance companies."Mr Morgan said he was concerned, with the recent torrential weather in Gloucestershire and the millions of insurance claims which followed, that finding cover for homes vulnerable to flooding could become more and more difficult in the future.He added: "The massive impact of the claims following the recent floods in Gloucestershire will probably only be felt later this year when companies review their policies."It concerns me that in the future areas at moderate risk of flooding, including much of lower Clevedon, could be left without insurance cover."A spokesman for the Environment Agency said insurance companies used a wide range of data when deciding on insurance risk levels and not just what is contained on its website.The spokesman added: "It does seem that our information is out of date."Now the scheme is in place we will look again at the risk and possibly redesignate this area to a low risk."If anyone is concerned about flooding at their property we would be happy to talk to and advise them.