Tothefirsteditionof“The SubsidenceClaim”a quarterlymagazine.
Focusedonthechallenges, opportunitiesandthreats thattheUKsubsidence sectorfacesinmanaging insurer,policyholderand stakeholderneeds.
Wewantthismagazineto beinformative,wewantit tobecurrentandwewant ittobefun.
Wehopeyouenjoythisfirst issue.
SubsidenceClaims aretheplacewhere soils,climate, landscapes,lawand insurancemeet.
Introduction
Inthisissuewelookatnewsfromaroundthe sector,wehavelegalupdatesandopinion pieceswhichwehopeyouenjoy.
Weprofilea“dayinthelife”ofsomeoneatthe coal-faceofdailysubsidenceclaims management.
Wehaveaspecialreportwhichthismonth looksatutilisingmonitoringasanearly predictiontoolforsurgeyears.
Wealsolookatweatherprospectsfor“surge”in 2025. TheDiarylooksateventsofinterest.
Weofcoursealsolookatthestateofthemarket andattheclimatephaseimpactingclaim numbers,repudiationsandthereadinessofthe sectorformajorupturns.
Welookathowtreerootsandclaysoilsinteractin siteinvestigations.
Finally,wehaveacommentpieceasa“Guest Soapbox”whichthismonthseesindustryleader MichaelLawsonchallengetheindustryto revaluatewhocanreallyleadchangeinthedrive forinnovation,efficiencyandexcellentcustomer outcomes.
Dosenduscomments,yourexperiencesandany requeststotheteamhereatTheSubsidence Claimandwewillseeyouinoursecondedition Ifyouhaveanyrequestsorideasforcontent,then contactusatmail@thesubsclaim.co.uk
ADayInTheLife
Afteraquickfuel-upandafew minutestogoovertheday’s schedule,wehittheroadearlyin hopesofstayingaheadoftraffic. NavigatingtheUK'sroadsmeans stayingalert—notjustforother drivers,butalsoforsurprise roadworks,accidents,and whatevertheweatherdecidesto throwatyou.
ourinformationathand-detailed instructions,siteplans,and knowledgeoftheproperty's layout,whichisonourmobile devices,accessedviaanApp. Yourgoalistopositionyour monitoringequipmentinthebest possiblespot,maximisecoverage ofthepropertyandminimising anyobstacles.
Whenonsite,youknowthat overgrownvegetation,parked vehicles,restrictedaccess,and policyholderscanallgetinthe wayofasmoothsetup.This requiresyoutonavigatethese challengesusingyourexpertiseto adaptanddevelopcreative solutions. Despitethechallenges,westrive togatherthedatarequiredfor yourmonitoringtask.Ourfocusis onsettinguptheequipmentto capturethemostaccurate information,andwework diligentlytoovercomeany obstaclesthatarise.
AsaMonitoringTechnician,you possessauniquecombinationof technicalexpertise,problemsolvingskills,andadaptability.We canthinkonourfeet,and communicateeffectivelywith policyholders,siteowners,and officestafftoensurethatthework iscompletedefficientlyand accurately.
Afteralongdayoftravelingand workinginavarietyof environments,techniciansfeel satisfiedwithajobwelldone.Most willtakeamomenttorefuelwitha snack(perhapssomeHaribo?) andstarttheirjourneyhome. Oncetheyreachtheirfinal destination,theyplanforthenext day'sadventures,readytotakeon whateverchallengescometheir way.
ClimateUpdate
Ontheright-handsideofthepageisareviewoftheMORECS reportingareaforGridSquare161centeredonthenorthLondon area.
TheMetOfficeRainfallandEvapotranspirationCalculatingSystem providesuswithaveryclearhigh-levelmeasureofwhethersoilsare depletedofwater,ifdeficitsaredevelopingorifwaterisabundant.
Itisrecordedanddistributedweeklytoindustryfromthe MeteorologicalOfficeandthelandclassificationmodelforthedata reportedbelowisabroadleavedtreeslandusewhichbestreflects ourworkinsubsidenceandthekeydriverofclaimstolowrise buildings.
2024 ReviewOf TheYear
Autumn/Winter2023-24wasverywet, andsoilmoisturewasabundantinto lastspring.Theyearneverreally threatenedan“event”yearassoilwater remainedabundantinthesoiland fromrepeatedheavyrainfall throughoutthegrowingseason.
*Morecsdatausedwiththe permissionoftheMeteorological Office
Calendar -ILOVECLAIMS8THMAY-
Takingplaceon8May2025attheBritish MotorMuseum,Gaydon‘Theevolutionof subsidenceclaims’eventwillbethethird yearinsuccessionexpertsfromthehome &propertyinsuranceclaimssectorhave gatheredtoexplorehowthesector continuestoevolveinlinewithchanging internalandexternalmarketdynamics.
Oneofthekeynotespeakerswillbe MichaelLawson,ChiefExecutiveof PropertyRiskInspectionLtdanda recognisedexpertonSubsidenceofLowRiseBuildings.Weareevenmoreexcited thattheSMLGroupwillbea2025Gold Sponsoroftheconference. Manyofthehome&propertyclaims leadinginsurershavealreadysecured theirplaceatILC’sHome&Property SpecialistSubsidenceConference2025. . Dateforthediary:
The Evolution of Subsidence Claims
8May2025
BritishMotorMuseum,Gaydon
TOPICS:Customerexperience, ProcessInnovation,TheEnvironment
SettoattendareleadingexpertsfromSpecialist Subsidence Conference2025
ScienceUpdate
THEROOTOFTHEPROBLEM
Treesareamajorcontributortosubsidenceclaimsin theUK.Therearevariousevidentialdirectandindirect testsofwhetherornottreesarecausativeand/or contributorytoasubsidenceevent.Inallcasesthe evidencemustbereadtogethertounravelthe likelihoodthattreesarecausingmovement.
Whenweopenuptrailpitsandsendawayfor laboratoryresultsrelatingtosoils,clayfractionand plasticity,wearereallyaskingthequestion,“isthissoil capableofvolumetricchangeifwaterisaddedor lost”.
Thetestsareallpointingatthesoilashaving shrinkablecharacteristics(clays)butthisshrink/swell potentialisreallyaskingcouldtreestakethewater outandweatheraddthewaterbackagain?
Equallymonitoringofabuildingisalsotryingto identifytrendsinvolumetricchangeofclaysoilsas waterisextractedandthenaddedleadingto movementsofaseasonalcharacter.
Finally,trialpitsmayallowrecoveryofrootsbeneath foundationlevelthatwerethevehicleforchanging thesoilsvolumebyextractingwaterinthiszoneand movingitthroughtherootsystemandtowardsthe treescanopy.
Therootsrecoveredbeneathfoundationswill usuallyonlybeafewyearsoldandrootsystemsare verydynamicsheddingtissue(rootdeath)ina continuouscycle.
Thedynamicnaturetorootsystemsandroot growth,aginganddeathiswhylaboratoryresults willsometimesreport(absenceofstarch-energy) rootsaredead butremembertheserootswere aliveandhadtheenergytogainaccesstothe waterandsoilsbeneaththefoundation!
Allofthissays-youneedarangeofexpertswho understandhowallthefactorsinter-relate.
SpecialReport
MONITORINGASANEARLYSURGE WARNING
Havingearlywarningofan approachingsummersurgeisof criticalimportancetothose businessesatthefrontlineof claiminvestigation.Traditionally theindustryhasusedhistoric weatherpatterns,longrange forecastsandsoilalertsfrom systemssuchastheMetOffice RainfallandEvapotranspiration CalculatingSystem(MORECS)to tryandharvestanyadvantagein earlywarning.
In2025SMLGroupandPRIwillbe evaluatingacombinationofsoil moisturedeficitsandrealtime monitoringresultsoflivecasesto tryandrefineearlywarning basedonactualmeasuresof maxmovement.
Thevalueofmonitoringresultsata populationlevelisthatwith sufficientsiteexposureyoumay identifyearlyregionalandsoiltype trendsofmovement.Thisis researchbeingfundedbyboth companiestoseektogeneratea newunderstandingofsoil dynamicsandbuildingbehaviour attheveryonsetofasummer surgeevent.
Guest Soapbox
Insurersoriginateclaims,theydo thisthroughinsurancepolicies, mostpoliciesintheUKare underwrittenbyverylarge,very capable,well-resourced, organisations.
Belowtheverylargeinsurerssit adjusters,manyofthesevolume claimmanagersarealsovery large,ofteninternationalin charactercoveringmultitudesof servicelines.
Belowtheadjustersarethelarge repairnetworksoftensupportinga widerangeofinvestigationsand repairsandsomewherefarbelow theopeningprocurementlinesare thespecialistfirmshelping progressandmitigateclaims throughoftentortuousstatutory hurdlesonbehalfofinsurersand theirpolicyholders.
MichaelLawson ChiefExecutive
PropertyRiskInspectionLtd
Onthe8thMayattheILC SubsidenceConferenceIwill arguethatasectorthathas barelymovedthedialon innovationthatreallychanges the“surge–piginthepython” deliveryforcustomers,that hasn’treallyseenthe tremendousservice improvementsand modernisationsofothersectors, needsanhonestconversation withitselfastowhat'spreventing positivechange-maybe,just maybeinsurersneedtoaska question-dowegetthesector wedeserve?
