Aviva reports more subsidence claims after summer heat

Aviva, the UK’s largest insurer, has reported a rise in subsidence claims after a very hot summer, amid similar increases across the insurance industry. Subsidence can crack walls and damage floors, doors and windows as dry weather shrinks the ground beneath homes; wetter conditions can then cause further movement.

Aviva said claims peaked from July to September and continued into October, but did not disclose the scale of its increase. Hastings Direct recorded 140% more claims in August than a year earlier, while Axa described the year as a “surge year”. The average UK subsidence claim reached £20,000 between April and June, and insurers paid £72m, up from £60m a year earlier. The British Geological Survey estimates that more than 4.2 million homes could be at risk by 2070, especially older homes on clay-rich soil.