A LANDLORD was shocked to find her home insurance went up by almost £1,000 despite her property becoming one of the first to be protected by the Mersey flood defences.

Lynn Knowling was looked to insure her property on Oxford Street, Latchford, but was left astounded when the price jumped from £230 to £1,140 in the space of a year.

She said: "I rang the Environment Agency and they said they had just completed this flood defence scheme and they said the insurance should have gone down.

"I rang around a couple of insurance providers and then a Warrington insurance broker and they helped me get a really good quote. They said a lot of people do have problems."

The first phase of the Environment Agency's scheme was completed in December and offered flood defences to 200 homes.

And on the agency's flood map it now shows the area including Oxford Street which are now protected from high risk of flooding due to the defences.

But the change in risk has not been reflected by some insurers.

"I just think it's a disgrace," added Lynn, who lives in Macclesfield. "I was told it takes the insurance companies up to 18 months to update their databases.

"It seems to me the insurance companies are taking a sledgehammer approach.

"The house has never flooded in the time I have had it since 1999. If it ever goes too high it goes on to the flood plain in Victoria Park. The estate has never flooded too because its higher than the park.

"The insurance companies are just taking the maps which say the property is in a flood area not the issues that have tackled the problem.

"The flood risk has gone from high to low."

The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) say some insurers may take more of a blanket approach to insuring homes in flood areas.

A spokesman for BIBA said: "If your home has a potential risk of flooding, you may find many on-line or direct insurance providers may automatically reject you or not be competitive for your risk. However solutions are available, the British Insurance Brokers Association are not for profit and our find a broker service on 0870 950 1790 biba.org.uk can put you in touch with a specialist insurance brokers who has a clear understanding of homes at risk of flood and can access specialist insurance markets. We also have a guide to insuring properties in high risk areas on our website biba.org.uk/UploadedFiles/564floodinsuranceguid.pdf."