Insurers left scratching heads over flood plain housing plans

Insurers have reacted with bewilderment to statements made by housing minister Yvette Cooper, who said the government would press ahead with plans to build on flood plains.

The government is committed to building three million homes by 2020, and despite recent evidence of the dangers of constructing houses on high flood-risk areas, it has indicated that - subject to the introduction of suitable flood defences - it would not rule out using flood plains as potential sites for housing