The Treasury is investigating whether Laxey residents may already qualify for a UK flood re-insurance scheme.

The UK has a flood reinsurance scheme - called Flood Re.

Most of the costs are covered by the industry through fixed premium for each flood risk accepted by the scheme, and an annual levy from each participating insurer.

This brings in £180 million.

But it is not clear whether policy holders in the Isle of Man would qualify - Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan told Tynwald he was trying to find out.

Daphne Caine (Garff) said: ’When Isle of Man households currently pay their household insurance they generally tend to be the same insurers that perhaps are running schemes in the UK, so is there a possibility that Isle of Man households could be contributing to Flood Re at present, with that premium charged?’

Without it, or without a similar scheme introduced in the island, she said there was a ’serious risk’ that victims of the Laxey flood might not be able to get insurance.

She asked if the Treasury would be able to underwrite households affected.

Mr Cannan said the Treasury needed to establish the current position before assessing alternatives.

He added: ’I and Treasury are just trying to seek to understand whether in fact Isle of Man households are already caught up in the Flood Re scheme.

’Getting this information is not always that easy.’

He added: ’I do have various meetings scheduled to try and understand this further, and clearly if it does emerge that we are already paying, then we do need to lobby to be included properly in the scheme.’

In a written question, Mrs Caine asked Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer what flood prevention measures had taken place since householders were forced out of their homes in the devastating flood of October 1.

Mr Harmer said more than 600 tonnes of material was removed from the river in the aftermath of the flood.

The collapsed section of wall in Glen Road was being rebuilt and would ’be able to withstand the pressure and force of the river without collapsing’. In conjunction with Manx Utilities and the Environment department, river and river bank maintenance had been taking place and the culvert from Quarry Falls down to Laxey river had been cleared of debris.

A new culvert was being developed to increase water-carrying capacity, with work due to start next February, once Glen Road is accessible from both ends.

Drainage

A larger capacity culvert will be installed to carry water in the stream next to the old police station and new drainage systems will be put in place.

’This will increase the water carrying capacity by over 11 times the existing capacity and allow for four new road drainage gullies,’ he said.

Drainage work and the clearing of old culverts is taking place in various locations and a new debris trap in Glen Roy is planned.