The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has called upon the future government to continue with its commitment to ring-fence money collected through insurance premium tax for flood defence spending.

The current government pledge was stated in the treasury’s red book. It implies a £2.5bn investment for flood defences for the period 2015-16 to 2020-21.

The Environment Agency reported earlier this week that ongoing flooding continues to impact communities in parts of South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

Executive director of BIBA, Graeme Trudgill said: “In 2016, the rate of IPT included on every home insurance policy increased from 9.5% to 10% and the government said that this increase would be ring-fenced to pay for flood defence and resilience measures.

“With a whole host of spending commitments made by each of the major parties already in this election campaign, it is vital that this earmarked pot of money is not absorbed into general government revenues and spent in other areas,” he added.

“The devastating effects of flooding upon both individuals and communities are clear; our members help them recover and rebuild when the worst happens. Brokers tell us how important the protection afforded by flood defences is to their customers and to the wider economy.

Trudgill said that flood defences save the UK around £1.1bn each year in flood prevention.

“Aside from the considerable human importance defences offer, they represent excellent value for money,” he added.

IPT has doubled since 2015, most recently going up from 10% to 12% in June 2017.

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