"Acts of God" - What are they and are you covered?

Although you're likely familiar with the term "act of God", it’s not actually part of modern-day insurance industry language.

Traditionally, when people talk about an act of God, they are referring to a natural hazard or event that’s outside of human control. This includes natural events such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.

You’ll typically find a section in your insurance policy documents explaining what level of cover, if any, you can expect for claims related to these types of events. Sometimes, acts of God are referred to as ‘force majeure clauses’, however John Lewis Home Insurance do not use this term in our policy documents.

Insurance premiums are calculated based on risk. The risk of things such as fire, leaking roofs, a tree falling on your property or even a flood can all be calculated. They are therefore considered by insurance providers to be “standard risks”.

Other natural disasters can be far less predictable and their risk can’t be calculated in the same way. If you're unsure whether you're covered for an event, check your policy documents or speak to an advisor.

Flood Re is a joint initiative between the insurance industry and the government to make covering floods more affordable and bring down premiums for many people living in high risk areas.

If your home is in an area that is prone to flooding, the cost of insuring it can be very high. But the Flood Re scheme benefits households that would otherwise struggle to get insurance against flooding.

You can use the Flood Re tool to find out whether your property could qualify for support from the scheme.

Living in the UK, natural disasters such as tornadoes or tsunamis generally aren’t things we are directly affected by. However, it’s more of a worry if your insurer won’t cover you for more likely events, such as flooding.

At John Lewis Finance, our insurance options include cover for a number of events including fire, lightning, explosions, earthquakes and smoke damage. We also provide cover for storms and floods – this is included for all levels of home insurance cover.

If you have Specialist Home Insurance from John Lewis and you have to claim over £20,000 for loss or damage caused by flooding, then in certain circumstances the policy will pay up to £2,500 towards the cost of installing a flood prevention system, if you didn't already have one.