Key facts
- Aviva chief executive Amanda Blanc said the insurer saw a peak subsidence period between July and September, with claims continuing into October.
- Aviva would not provide further detail on the scale of the increase in subsidence claims.
- Hastings Direct said it received record subsidence claims in August, up 140% on a year earlier.
- The Association of British Insurers said the average UK subsidence claim hit £20,000 between April and June, more than £2,000 higher than a year earlier.
- The British Geological Survey estimates up to 11% of UK homes, more than 4.2 million houses, could be at risk of subsidence by 2070.
Aviva, the UK's largest insurer, said on November 13, 2026 that it had seen a rise in subsidence claims after an extremely hot summer, with a peak period between July and September and claims continuing into October. Chief executive Amanda Blanc told Bloomberg in an interview that day that the company would not provide further detail on the scale of the increase.
Subsidence claims typically cover repairs for cracks, sloping floors and misaligned doors and windows. Two record hot summers in the UK have dried the ground under homes, causing it to shrink and undermining foundations; it expands again in wetter winters, which can cause further damage. Blanc said homeowners could reduce the risk by monitoring drains, pipes and gutters and fixing leaks, adding: "It's about managing trees and plumbing."
Other insurers have also reported more claims. Hastings Direct said it received record subsidence claims in August, up 140% on a year earlier, and Axa, one of the UK's biggest home insurers, has described a "surge year" for subsidence. The Association of British Insurers said the average UK subsidence claim reached £20,000 between April and June, more than £2,000 higher than a year earlier, and that insurers paid out £72 million for domestic subsidence claims in the period, compared with £60 million a year earlier.
The British Geological Survey estimates that up to 11% of UK homes, more than 4.2 million houses, could be at risk by 2070, with older properties on shallow foundations and clay-rich soil most exposed, including areas of London, Essex, Kent and around Oxford.
Separately, Aviva reported a 19% rise in general insurance premiums to £11.8 billion in the third quarter. Blanc said in a statement alongside the results that Aviva was "in great shape" and that performance had been "excellent in the first nine months of 2026".