Claims Consortium Group has issued an open letter to the UK education sector urging action to address a shortage of skills in subsidence claims handling, as insurers report capacity concerns amid more frequent and wide‑ranging surge events linked to climate change.
The company said the market is already experiencing recruitment challenges and wage pressure across claims functions, and that future demand for specialist expertise is likely to rise.
As part of its response, Claims Consortium Group has written to universities offering BSc (Hons) Building Surveying programmes to offer free presentations, tuition and information on careers in subsidence claims. The aim is to build interest among students ahead of graduation. The business said initial responses from local institutions have been positive.
The letter highlights the pattern of recent surge years and the earlier onset of claims seasons, with volumes spreading across wider regions. This year’s surge would be the third in seven years, following spikes in 2018 and 2022.
Industry data points to the financial impact: the 2022 event was estimated to have cost £219 million, with 23,000 claims notified and 18,000 arising after the summer heatwave. In the first half of 2025, subsidence‑related claims totalled £153 million, with an average payout of £17,264 per claim, according to the Association of British Insurers.
Recent analysis by WeatherNet indicated soil moisture deficits approaching levels historically associated with higher subsidence risk, reaching near 250 in week 24 and arriving earlier in the season than in 2022. Combined with the UK’s warmest spring on record, the conditions raise the prospect of a claims pattern similar to 2022 if dry weather persists.
ABI data further show that almost 9,000 households received support in H1 2025, with clay‑rich areas flagged as particularly exposed. The association advised homeowners to manage vegetation, check plumbing and drainage, and notify insurers promptly if signs such as diagonal cracking wider than 3mm appear.
“There is a real need for the insurance sector to invest now in initiatives to attract and train the subsidence claims managers, field surveyors and technical experts of the future to ensure the insurance market can continue to respond, and support policyholders, before, during and after, future subsidence events,” said Steven Coxon (pictured above), head of subsidence claims at Claims Consortium Group.
If a surge materialises in 2025, it would represent the third such event in seven years, underscoring how exposure is clustering in known hotspots. High‑risk regions remain London, the South East and parts of the Midlands, where shrink‑swell clay soils and dense urban tree cover can intensify ground movement during prolonged dry spells.
“It would be great if the wider insurance market, including our competitors, mirrored our initiative, as other sectors have shown that capturing the interest of students early on in their careers can make a real difference,” Coxon said. “Our approach also supports the ongoing work of the cross-industry specialist interest group, the Subsidence Forum, which has been raising concerns over future skills for a few years.
Longer‑term projections suggest the financial burden of subsidence could continue to build over the decade, with one estimate indicating total costs could reach £1.9 billion by 2030. That outlook has prompted calls for resilience planning alongside workforce development to ensure sufficient capacity across investigation, mitigation and repair.
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