The cost of the devastating floods that have hit central and northern England this week is likely to exceed £1 billion, driving up the cost of home and car insurance, according to the insurance industry.

The figure is set to rise if the bad weather predicted for this weekend worsens the situation in areas already stricken by Monday's unprecedented downpour.

Flash warnings of severe weather have already been issued for Wales and western, central and northern England for both Saturday and Sunday.

The latest UK forecast from the Met Office predicts rain spreading eastwards overnight across Northern Ireland and western Britain, some of it heavy. Saturday was forecast to bring more rain spreading northeast across most of the country, with heavy bursts, particularly in the west.

An ad hoc national flood control centre has been set up in Worcester to co-ordinate response by fire brigades round Britain to any renewed flood emergencies this weekend.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said today that 27,000 homes and 5,000 business premises were damaged when up to 100mm of rain fell over parts of England on Monday. Insurance companies are already being inundated with claims, fielding 8,600 calls on Monday alone. The scale of the disaster is likely to make insurance more expensive.

"Insurers that are particularly hard hit by claims may have little choice but to increase premiums over the coming year," warned Debra Williams, managing director of the online insurance search engine Confused.com.

Prince Charles was today visiting some of the victims of the flooding in Sheffield and the Catcliffe area of Rotherham, where many homes remain under several inches of water and without power.

Fire and rescue services have worked without cease for more than three days to deal with the worst effects, rescuing 3,500 people from flooded buildings. At least five people have died, and it is feared that several other deaths may be flood-related.

A spokesman for the Chief Fire Officers Association gave warning that the emergency, which triggered what is believed to be the largest ever rescue operation in Britain's peacetime history, had demonstrated the confusion over who exactly is in charge during rescues in inland waters, which are not part of the statutory duties of fire brigades.

Paul Hayden, the Chief Fire Officer of Hereford and Worcester, said that at present police, fire brigades, councils, the Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs all had different powers during a flooding emergency.

"Because we haven't got standardisation of our equipment and of our training it does mean we aren't as effective as we otherwise could be," he said.

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