"Subsidence-related insurance claims totalled £153 million in the first half of 2025, as households across the UK felt the impact of an exceptionally warm and sunny spring, according to figures from the ABI.
Over the first six months of the year, insurers supported almost 9,000 households in recovering from subsidence damage, with the average payout per claim standing at £17,264.
Subsidence occurs when the ground beneath a building sinks, pulling the property’s foundations down with it. It typically happens when soil loses moisture and contracts - often due to prolonged dry spells or the presence of trees and shrubs that draw water from the ground."
Source: Asociation of British Insurers 11th Aug 2025
The ABI warns that comparisons with H! 2024 must be made with caution as "The ABI’s H1 2025 property claims data collection has improved market coverage compared to 2024. As a result, comparisons with previous periods should be treated carefully. Comparisons year on year of relative metrics such as average cost of claim and claims frequency should still be representative, but comparisons for absolute metrics such as total claims settled should be used with care. "
Insurers with still be considering the likely impact of the hot weather and the trend for the next five years.
The UK's Met Office states: -
"Spring 2025 has broken historical climate records, marking an unprecedented season of warmth and sunshine across the UK, according to provisional Met Office statistics.
The UK, and all four nations, have all recorded their warmest spring for mean temperature since the series began in 1884, surpassing the previous record from 2024. This season also outshone the rest, claiming the title of sunniest spring on record for the UK, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with England recording its second sunniest spring since sunshine records began in 1910.
To put this into context, Spring 2025 is now the fourth sunniest season overall for the UK, with only three summers sunnier since 1910."
Subsidence claims are complex and always involve many different parties from engineers to inspectors to the many contractors called in by insurers to validate claims and settle remedial work. The initial appearance of cracks may not indicate subsidence at all but custemrs will need reassuring.
The insurer's claims team are the important contact for customers and can be augmented by various digital claims platforms to help shorten lead-times and agree fair settlements.
In various Insurtechworld articles I have listed potential technology partners that insurers can collaborate with.
- 360 Globalnet
- Claims technology with Synergy Cloud
- Home and Property focus
- Cotality, the CoreLogic rebranding
- Home, contents, property, and supply chain ecosystem
- Five Sigma- transforming insurance with its AI claims adjuster is similar to RightIndem, and years of research made me list the two as the best for insurance to shortlist
- RightIndem launched its AI-powered claims assistant that guides claimants to more accurate and detailed eFNOL solututions faster. It names WNS Group as a strategic partner delivering Rightindem embeded as part of its outsourced services for insueres like \howden Group and Zurich. CEO is Julie Rodilosso and CSO Richard Massingham
My research over the last few years https://www.claimsconsortiumgroup.co.uk/about/https://www.claimsconsortiumgroup.co.uk/about/suggests that RightIndem and Five Sigma offer the ultimate option for multiple lines of business, digital FNOL, fullim management from FNOL to settlement, and the ability to deploy GenAI and other AI tools. Combined with the MACH architecture core platforms, the combination offers cost-effective solutions.
For Property, Home and Contents Cotality , Synergy Cloud with Claims Consortium Group, , 360Globalnet with The Drainage Co, offer well proven digital claims platforms.
Cotality has an extensive supply chain management capabilirt and both Synergy Cloud and 360Globalnet, within their groups, have considerable experience dealing with subsidence claims.
Further Reading
Insurance support tops £150 million for homes affected by subsidence ABI
Spring 2025 is warmest and sunniest on UK record UK Met Office
Will GenAI and Agentic AI transform insurance claims management for insurer's competitive advantage? Insurtechworld
Subsidence-related insurance claims totalled £153 million in the first half of 2025, as households across the UK felt the impact of an exceptionally warm and sunny spring, according to figures from the ABI. Over the first six months of the year, insurers supported almost 9,000 households in recovering from subsidence damage, with the average payout per claim standing at £17,264.
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