Rising subsidence claims will drive up home insurance premiums: check out our interactive map to see how your area is affected
- The number of cases of land subsidence is increasing because climate change is causing hotter summers
- Insurers are facing a multi-million dollar bill for subsidence last year alone
- Check if your region is prone to subsidence with our searchable map
Home insurance premiums are set to rise on a spate of claims as insurers report paying out £219m last year – £9,600 per home.
Subsidence is where the earth sinks under a house, which can cause property damage.
It is normally caused by warm weather, where the soil dries out, as happened in the UK last year with the late summer heat wave.
Insurers now think their bill for subsidence claims will reach £219m by 2022, the highest level since 2006.
Last summer’s heat wave led to 18,000 subsidence claims – the equivalent of one new claim every 15 minutes in the second half of last year.
Postcode lottery: These regions saw the highest number of confirmed subsidence in 2022, according to structural engineers Geobear
Last summer’s record-breaking heatwave has led to an increase in claims payouts this week, according to figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
The heatwave – which peaked with the highest UK temperature since records began at 40.3 degrees on July 19 – resulted in the equivalent of one new subsidence claim being made every 15 minutes in the second half of the year.
Insurers expect to pay £219 million in claims by 2022, many of which were triggered by last summer’s record-breaking high temperatures.
This is the highest expected subsidence bill since 2006, though insurers are still working out the exact total.
Of the 23,000 subsidence claims filed during the year, the majority – 18,000 – occurred in the second half of the year after the summer heat wave.
The ABI previously warned that home insurance premiums could rise this year due to a spike in subsidence claims.
The good news is that home insurance prices are currently at an all-time low.
But the bad news is that these costs are likely to rise in 2023, as insurers pass on the cost of frozen pipe claims, rising material and labor costs, and subsidence claims.
ABI General Insurance Manager Laura Hughes said: ‘Thousands of homeowners felt the impact of last summer’s record-breaking heat wave long after temperatures returned to normal.
‘Insurers understand that subsidence is worrisome and stressful. They have, and will continue to support their customers during each monitoring period to determine the extent of the damage and what repairs or work is required for a long-term solution.”
According to Geobear’s CEO, Otso Lahtinen, subsidence in the UK is on the rise.
Lahtinen said the historical norm for subsidence is one bad “event year” in seven.
But there have been two event years in the last five years alone, he said.
The risk is especially in areas with clay soil. The Southeast region has clay that is particularly reactive to heat.
Some buildings are also more at risk of subsidence than others. Victorian terraced houses with shallow foundations, especially on clay soils and near large trees, are particularly susceptible to subsidence.
While insurance contracts normally cover subsidence costs, this may only be the case once per property.
Helen Phipps, home insurance comparison expert at Comparethemarket, said: ‘Sag cover is typically only included in most property insurance policies if the property has never suffered from it before, so you should never assume you’re automatically covered. Insurance costs may vary depending on building type, as well as proximity to trees and/or water.’