How the government profits from floods

Many parts of the country got hit last year, as reported by the Guardian. But when there is a series of floods in the UK next time around ... think on this from 2008 experience:

1. Amount the government proposed putting towards flood relief in 2008 = £85m

2. Estimated total flood bill for 2008 payable by insurers = £3bn
(About £3.25bn just from 2 months in 2007 according to Reuters)

3. Total VAT payment on these bills to the government = £525m

4. Total 'profit' to the government because of floods = £440m

5. And why can't they zero-rate flood-related bills? Because of an agreement at European level

6. Who agreed to that? Mmm, let me think ... I wonder if Alastair Darling knows how to rain dance?

So what about re-investing all 'profits' from these floods into defences ... so next time around, there's less damage, less heartache, less claims, smaller insurance premiums. It ain't exactly rocket science.