Blog: Subsidence claims are evolving

A recent blog in Post claimed subsidence was the ‘forgotten peril'. With the last major surges occurring in 2003 and 2006, over 10 years ago now, it's understandable that the impact of them has started to fade. However, the fact is subsidence is still part of the claims picture; it's the causes and outcomes that are currently changing and evolving.

The main cause of subsidence in the past decades has been the combination of hot weather and low rainfall which leads to root-induced shrinkage of clay soils. In recent years however, long, dry spells that can give rise to subsidence claims have been few and far between.

While we are still receiving claims due to the aforesaid, albeit at reduced numbers, we are also seeing a mix of claims caused by escape of water from drains, consolidation of soil, landslip, mining and the odd sinkhole, often precipitated by heavy rainfall - and we've had plenty of that.

Interestingly, when you combine the above factors with any increased activity in the property market, more home surveys invariably lead to the detection of otherwise unnoticed cases of subsidence.

While the last 10 years have been quiet on the claims front, that's not to say we have been sitting on our laurels. We are always reviewing and learning from the way we handle claims. We have invested in making the customer journey as straightforward as possible, eliminating failure demand, improving the end-to-end process and integrating our supply chains. This means that the work around investigation and mitigation flows naturally into the repair process, thus reducing the duration and cost of claims - good for the customer, good for the industry.

New technology and digitalisation are also vital to how we communicate at all levels with resultant improvements in claims efficiency. And let's not forget The Subsidence Forum, which seeks to improve public understanding of the issues relating to subsidence, providing a focal point for sharing information and promoting industry improvements and customer service standards across the board. 

So the main issue is around understanding what would happen in the case of a surge year. There has been a great deal of investment in methodology and technology relating to communications, triage, site investigation, mitigation and repairs. Conversely, indications are that the experienced professionals who have left the subsidence industry, due to the reduction in claim numbers and in some cases demographics, are not being replaced, leading to concerns over lack of succession planning and training.

Therefore there is considerable concern about the immediate pressure that insurers, loss adjusters and the supply chain will come under when the next subsidence event arises. While the demand on contractors will not be quite so high or immediate, the emphasis on reducing claims duration will mean that they will also need to ensure trained staff are available to help at the first signs of the rise in the number of claims.

The last summers, and in all likelihood this one, have barely registered a spike in claims over the July to October period, when we would expect them, but we can never know the exact when or where of the next subsidence event. It is vital that as an industry, we have robust surge plans, including contingency processes that include plans to sub-contract when capacity is met.