Remember those hot and sunny days last summer, the ones that gave us record breaking temperatures and helped us forget about the never ending rain storms of earlier in the year? Most of us welcomed them with open arms and made the most of every single day, hoping that they would never end.
But, of course, they did and now we are paying for them. Yes, the danger of flooding may be receding but now we are facing subsidence on a grand scale!
Last summer’s record-breaking heat wave led to a surge in subsidence claim payouts according to figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The heat wave – which peaked with the hottest UK temperature since records began of 40.3 degrees on 19 July – triggered the equivalent of one new subsidence claim every 15 minutes in the second half of the year.
Of the 23,000 subsidence claims made during the year, the majority -18,000 – were in the second half of the year following the summer heat wave.
While the final insurance bill has not been fully settled due to ongoing monitoring of some homes to assess the extent of any subsidence damage, ABI members expect to pay out £219 million in subsidence claims. This will be the highest annual subsidence payout in 16 years since 2006 with the average subsidence claim being £9,600.
Laura Hughes, ABI’s Manager, General Insurance, said: “Thousands of homeowners felt the impact of last summer’s record-breaking heat wave long after temperatures returned to normal. Insurers understand that suffering subsidence is worrying and stressful. They have, and will continue to, support their customers during any monitoring period to ascertain the extent of the damage, and what repairs or work will be needed for a long-term solution.”
