With thousands still homeless after last year's floods, insurer Hiscox has issued a warning to homeowners urging them to check what service their insurer would provide in a future event. Insurer Hiscox believes homeowners in at-risk areas need more education about what to expect from their insurer should the worst happen.

Hiscox UK managing director Steve Langan said: “As Sir Michael has pointed out, there were significantly different levels of service experienced by the people affected by the floods in 2007. “Too many people see insurance as a commodity, partly because the insurance industry has, for too long, sold itself on price and not highlighted the value of service. Last year's events have proved that, at present, homeowners can suffer as a result.

“Because it is a low interest purchase, most consumers don't look at the detail and think that all home insurance is more or less the same. In fact, you get hugely different levels of service from one policy to another. Hiscox said: “Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.”

According to the insurer, waiting for another crisis before taking action would be a bad idea.

Mr Langan said: “Homeowners need to think beyond price and scrutinise the service they are entitled to in the event of a crisis of this nature. And the insurance industry needs to consider carefully how it markets itself, so that homeowners are able to make a more informed choice.”

At the same time, Hiscox has further urged the government to make flooding a priority, calling for better management of flood plains. An independent report into last summer's flooding by Sir Michael Pitt published on Wednesday into the devastating floods in Hull and Sheffield in 2007 makes calls for greater flood protection.

According to the Press Association, Sir Michael declared that national building regulations must be changed and calling on local authorities to create electronic maps of ditches, stream and rivers to establish who is responsible for drainage.

Almost 5,000 households have still not returned to their homes following last year's natural disaster, a figure Sir Michael claims will leave people “shocked”. He went on to say it was “totally unacceptable” that there were still people in temporary housing.

He added: “First of all, there's the problem that when you do get water into a house because of flooding, if the water is there and it has to dry out, that can take a long period of time. That can take longer if the wrong building materials are used.”

“There are many more provisions that can be made. We need to have more sharing of information, more joint working in advance of a flood and more cooperation in event of an emergency.” The Pitt Review, a government-commissioned review, contains 92 recommendations on how Britain can better equip itself in the event of another flooding disaster.

During June last year severe flood swept across areas of west England and Wales with Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire particularly hard hit. Some 48,000 people were displaced following the events, with the government revealing last month thousands are yet to return home.