LV’s Martin Milliner said: “With those involved in the planning process ignoring the current guidance, this runs the risk of putting an ever-increasing number of communities at risk.

“To tackle this, we need to come together and develop a holistic approach to flooding for the long term, with property developers, insurers and Government, both nationally and locally, tackling the issue of building on flood plains.”

Nearly 20pc of all properties across England are at risk of flooding, with 2.4 million properties on flood plains. Flood damage costs an estimated £1.1bn per year in England. The average cost of repairing a flood damaged home was roughly £32,000, LV said.  

Homebuyers can check if an area is at risk using the government’s online tools. There are two available, for imminent flooding and long-term flooding, which can be found here and here. 

In July the Government announced that new powers would be given to the Housing Secretary to block “inappropriate development” on land threatened by flooding.