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Insurers in England and Wales tell of busy August with one reporting near-140% jump in claims
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Business — Julia Kollewe
UK insurers are experiencing a surge in the number of homeowners making claims for subsidence after the hottest summer on record , with Hastings Direct reporting a near 140% jump to an all-time high for August.
Insurance firms have been overrun by calls and online queries, as well as a rise in claims during the five heatwaves that followed the warmest spring ever recorded in England and Wales .
Subsidence claims typically peak during late summer and autumn, but this year they jumped in number during the summer.
Millions of homes are at risk of subsidence because of the worsening climate crisis, the British Geological Survey has said.
As hotter, drier summers become more frequent, the ground under houses can shrink and drag down a property’s foundations. Older properties are more at risk. The most vulnerable areas for subsidence include London, Essex, Kent and a tranche of land from Oxford up to the Wash on England’s east coast, according to scientists.
Hastings Direct, which has 4.8 million home and motor insurance customers, said it had had a significant increase in subsidence claims over the summer and received a record number in August, almost 140% more than in the same month last year.
After two unusually dry summers, subsidence activity has increased significantly, the company said.
Hastings predicted the large volume of claims would continue into the autumn even though temperatures had returned to more normal levels and there had been some rainfall in recent weeks.
“We expect claim volumes to remain higher than normal through to around October unless sustained rainfall helps restore soil moisture levels,” the insurer added.
Signs of subsidence range from diagonal cracks around doors and windows that often widen over time; windows or doors that stick or will not close properly and uneven or sloping floors. Wallpaper creasing or rippling can also be a sign of subsidence, as well as damp.
The average subsidence claim in the UK hit a record £20,000 between April and June, more than £2,000 higher than a year earlier, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Insurers paid out £72m for domestic subsidence claims, up from £60m in the same period last year.
About £297m in total was paid out on claims in 2025, up 6% from the year before, and 89% higher than in 2022, the ABI said.
Charlie Inwood, the general insurance policy adviser at the ABI, said: “Following this summer’s hot weather, it’s likely we’ll see more subsidence claims over the coming months.”
Aviva, which completed a £3.7bn acquisition of its rival Direct Line in July, and dominates the UK home insurance market, has also reported subsidence claim numbers had increased in recent months. “This is likely to continue unless there is significant rainfall,” it said.
Amanda Blanc, the chief executive of Aviva, said last month that the company was reviewing the reserves it had set aside for subsidence claims, and would also look at its pricing models and exposure management. The insurer is also investigating what homeowners can do to prevent property damage from subsidence and flooding.
Small shrinkage and movement cracks were normal after hot dry weather, Aviva said, while diagonal cracks that were more than 2.5cm wide, roughly the diameter of a £1 coin, could be a sign of subsidence.
Axa, another home insurer, said it expected a “surge year” but could not say whether it would be a record year for subsidence claims.
Adam Holland, the head of retail underwriting, fraud and pricing governance at the French company’s UK arm, said: “The Met Office’s announcement about summer 2026 being the hottest on record in the UK puts the impact of climate change into sharp focus … and we expect to see an increase in weather-related property damage this year.”
Insurance firms have been overrun by calls and online queries, as well as a rise in claims during the five heatwaves that followed the warmest spring ever recorded in England and Wales .
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Source: The Guardian · Julia Kollewe. Published 5 Sept 2026, 06:00 am.
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