A YORK councillor has said insurance premiums charged to residents in part of the city amount to "little more than a lottery".

Coun Richard Moore, who is chairman of City of York Council's flood scrutiny panel, and represents Rawcliffe, said massive differences in premiums charged to neighbouring homeowners in the area were "unjust".

He claimed some homeowners in Rawcliffe have faced increases as high as 87 per cent in the cost of their insurance since the local Blue Beck burst its banks in November 2002.

But he claimed there were inconsistencies in the increases.

"One household has received an increase of 87 per cent, while the house next door has had only a £10 increase in its premium.

"Insurance companies are commercial operations, but they should still have standards to work to, rather than just seeing how much they can get out of residents."

He says that in one case Norwich Union charged a Rawcliffe household £207 for contents insurance alone, but charged a neighbouring house just £3 more for combined contents and building insurance.

Norwich Union spokesman Liz Kennet said: "Neighbouring houses can be at different risks from flooding depending on the likely flow of water

"As well as flood risk, premiums will take into account other factors such as burglaries, the age of the homeowner, the age of the house and whether it is occupied during the day."

Coun Moore wrote to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on February 9 to call for consistency among insurers, but was yesterday still waiting for a response.

The ABI said it had prepared a response and would send it to Coun Moore within the next few days.

A spokesman said: "Companies set premiums based on their own assessment of the risk and their particular experiences in the area.

"There is an agreement that insurance companies will cover properties in risk areas providing there is adequate flood protection. But there is no agreement on price. Our members are free to set their own charges."

The Environment Agency told the Evening Press that flood protection in Rawcliffe exceeds industry requirements, but Coun Moore claimed some insurers had still refused to take on new customers.

He said there had been cases where house sales had fallen through because potential buyers were unable to get insurance.

Updated: 10:37 Friday, March 26, 2004