Home subsidence claims hit record 13,000 in third quarter, ABI says

Insurers received 13,000 new domestic subsidence claims from July to September 2026, the highest number on record and up from 8,000 in the same period of 2025, the Association of British Insurers said on 2 November.

The ABI linked the rise to hot, dry weather that increases the risk of ground movement. The Met Office said provisional figures showed a UK summer mean temperature of 16.5°C, the highest in a series going back to 1884. It also recorded England's driest July.

The average payout for subsidence damage to a home stayed at a record £20,000 for a second consecutive quarter. The ABI said the 13,000 figure counts claims opened, and that subsidence claims can take several months to settle.

The ABI said the number of home and business property claims fell 4% to 142,000, while payouts rose 1% to £1.5bn. It put this down to higher materials and labour costs and more severe weather. The ABI said the average domestic fire claim was £38,000, the third-highest quarterly level on record, and the average flood claim was £28,000.

The ABI said the average annual home premium was £329, the same as a year earlier and £4 more than in the second quarter. Combined buildings and contents policies averaged £389, while buildings-only premiums fell £13 to £310.

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Sources

• ABI: Average property insurance claim hits record £10,000, with high costs across all perils (2 November 2026)
• Met Office: Summer 2026 provisionally hottest on record for the UK (1 September 2026)

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