Insurers are expected to shoulder the bulk of the burden after first Storm Desmond and then Storm Eva saw waters swamp large swathes of the country, according to accountants PwC.
PwC's Mohammad Khan said: "We would give a very initial estimate of economic losses of between £900m and £1.3bn, with the insurance industry bearing between £700m to £1bn of this.
"If rain continues to fall in large quantities, and the areas with warnings in place do indeed flood significantly, it could well be that the total economic losses could breach £1.5bn with an additional significant increase in insurer losses from our initial estimate."
The Government has vowed to look again at the quality of the UK's flood defences as home and business owners face up to a miserable start to the new year.
Emergency financial assistance will also be put in place for affected areas, and homes and businesses damaged by flooding caused by Eva will have access to the same package of support announced for those affected by Storm Desmond.
Teams from insurance companies have been on the ground in the affected areas. Customers have been advised to get their claims started as soon as possible and to take photos of damaged items.
Rob Townend of insurer Aviva said: "Any damage caused to property and belongings will be covered and if customers have to move out of their home, because it is uninhabitable, the cost of alternative accommodation is also paid for - and we can make arrangements for pets, too."
Customers with Aviva are covered for flood and storm damage, Mr Townend said, and the company can also make emergency payments to help people pay for items such as baby food, nappies and clothes.
Matthew Scott, chief claims manager from NFU Mutual, said: "Based on what we are hearing from our network of offices across the UK, the flooding across many parts of northern England and north west Wales could be the worst for several years.
"This is a particularly cruel weekend for anyone to be affected by a flood and our first priority is to help get our policyholders and their families back into their homes and workplaces as quickly as possible."
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has already said it expects its members to pay out more than £520m to help victims to recover after Storm Desmond saw thousands of homes and businesses in Cumbria and other parts of northern England and the Scottish borders.
Latest floods over the Christmas period sparked by storm Eva will add to the bill. They have affected swathes of Yorkshire and Lancashire while there have also been alerts in parts of Wales and the Midlands.
Previous floods in Cumbria cost the insurance industry £272m in 2005 and £276m in 2009.
Flooding in 2007, which affected large parts of Northern Ireland, Yorkshire, The Midlands, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and South Wales, resulted in 185,000 claims with a total cost of £3bn.
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