Government's failure to ensure long-term affordable insurance could leave 200,000 households without cover against flood damage, insurance companies have warned.

With heavy rainfall continuing to threaten further flooding in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and parts of Wales, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has urged Whitehall to commit to a not for profit temporary overdraft that would aid insurers to meet immediate costs.