Welcome!
Tothesecondeditionof The SubsidenceClaimaquarterly magazine.Focusedonthechallenges, opportunitiesandthreatsthattheUK subsidencesectorfacesinmanaging insurer,policyholderandstakeholder needs.
Wewantthismagazinetobe informative,wewantittobecurrent, andwewantittobefun.
Wehopeyouenjoythislatestissue.
Introduction Inthisissue,webringyouthelatestnewsfrom acrossthesector,alongwithlegaland scientificupdates,aswellasopinionpieceswe hopeyou'llenjoy.
Wefeaturea"dayinthelife"profileofsomeone workingonthefrontlinesofdailysubsidence claimsmanagement.
Thismonth'sspecialreportfocusesonthedraft JointMitigationProtocol.
We'realsocallingthisthe“Red”edition, reflectingtherisingriskofasurgeinactivity.
TheDiaryhighlightsupcomingeventsof interest,andinthescienceupdate,weexplore whatcausessoiltoshrinkandswell.
TheSubsidenceClaim-Vol2August2025
Weofcoursealsolookatthestateofthemarket andattheclimatephaseimpactingclaim numbers,repudiationsandthereadinessofthe sectorformajorupturns.
Finally,wehaveacommentpieceasa“Guest Soapbox”whichthismonthseesChiefExecutive atPropertyRiskInspection-MichaelLawson challengetheindustryto“breakafeweggs”in thedriveforinnovation,efficiencyandexcellent customeroutcomes.
Dosenduscomments,yourexperiencesand anyrequeststotheteamhereatThe SubsidenceClaimandwewillseeyouinour thirdeditioninOctober25.
Ifyouhaveanyrequestsorideasforcontent, thencontactusatmail@thesubsclaim.co.uk
The Met Office have reported widespread low rainfall for 6 consecutive months across the English Lowlands.
ClimateUpdate Ontheright-handsideofthe pageareviewoftheMORECS reportingareaforGridSquare 161centeredonthenorth Londonarea.
TheMetOfficeRainfalland EvapotranspirationCalculating Systemprovidesuswithavery clearhigh-levelmeasureof whethersoilsaredepletedof water,ifdeficitsaredeveloping orifwaterisabundant.
Itisrecordedanddistributed weeklytoindustryfromthe MeteorologicalOfficeandthe landclassificationmodelfor thedatareportedbelowisa broadleavedtreeslanduse whichbestreflectsourworkin subsidenceandthekeydriver ofclaimstolowrisebuildings.
andsunniestspringquarter onrecordandaswemoved throughJuneandJuly allthe indicatorswerepointingata significantupturninclaim volumesin2025.
*Morecsdatausedwith thepermissionofthe MeteorologicalOffice
Special Report- The Joint Mitigation Protocol TheJointMitigationProtocol wasfirstissuedasan attempttoimprove subsidenceclaimsina statutoryenvironment principallyinvolvingLondon's streettrees.
Streettreesaremanaged andmaintainedbystatutory HighwayAuthoritiesasa “greeningand environmentalbenefit”for highwayusersandthewider community.
However,theHighwaysAct acknowledgesthattreescan becomeanuisanceand wherethishappensCouncils areexpectedtoactto alleviatethenuisance.
Nuisancemightbeobstructing thehighway,signageor invadingburiedutilities,itcan alsoincludesubsidencecaused toprivatethirdparties.
Backin2008,various stakeholdersattemptedto deviseacommon“Joint MitigationProtocol”toallow CouncilsandInsurerstoremove someoftheconflictand confusionaroundclaimsmade.
LedbytheLondonTreeOfficers AssociationtheJMPwas launchedandsupportedbya widerangeoforganisations.
However,overthelast16+years theJMPhashadonlylimited successatremovingconflict.
Anewdraftisnowbeing proposedbyaneditorialworking groupledbytheForestry Commission,andwewillbe trackingprogressofthedraft overfutureissues.
Wecontinuetoinnovatewithourmonitoringheatmap acrosstheUK.
Thesystemforcapturingthedataatpopulationlevelasa setofsitescombinedtoproduceaheatmapisnow complete.
Thisisnowdeployedasa“livetool”andisalreadyproving invaluableinshowinghowdistrictsandregionsare respondingtothe2025summer.
TheattachedUKmapsshowthemovementfromMayto June2025andtheheatmapexposureclearlyshowsthat sitesacrosstheEnglishlowlandsandsouthWalesarenow “lightingup”.
Thisisshowingsomeinterestingdetailofregions respondingfastestandthedifferentbehavioursof buildingsonlowplasticsoilsandmoderate/highplastic soils.
Whydosoilsshrinkandswell? Inthelastissuewelookedatrootsandclaims,thisissuewelook atthesoil.
Soilscanbeformedbyavarietyofprocessesandmaterials.Chalks aretheresultofmillionsofyearsofdepositioninshallowseasof microscopicandminiseacreatures;clayscanalsobeformedin waterasmaterialsettlestothebottom,sandsandsiltscanbe depositionandalsofromweathering.
Finally,intheshort-term weathering,actionbymicroorganismsandorganic materialaddedbyplantscan maketheuppersoilsweoften thinkofas“thesoil”inour gardens.
Insubsidenceclaimsweare principallyinterestedinclay soils,oftencalled“cohesive” becausetheysticktogether.
Butwhyareclaysoils problematicforbuildingsand whydotheycontributeto subsidenceclaims?
Clayparticlesaresomeofthethe smallestpartsofsoil,sandsand gravelsarelargeandnon compressiblebutmost importantlytheydon’tretainwater.
Ifyoupourwaterintosandor gravelitmovesthroughthe materialbygravityuntilithitsan impermeablelayer–oftenvery deepunderground.
Clayhasthisoneunique characteristic–itselectrically chargedandthismeansitcan holdwateratthemicroscopiclevel verytightly.
That’swhyfarmerslikeclaysoils-theyreleasewaterslowlyascrops grow.
So,claysaregreat-exceptifyouhaveabuildingonshallow foundationsneartrees.
Thetreesthinkclaysaregreataswellandtheysuckthatwaterout thesoil.Iftheysuckmoreoutthanisgoingin,thewatervolume decreasesandthesoilsshrink.Whenthishappenstoonlypartofa structure,thatwillmoveandthencrack.
Nowyouhavedamageandpossiblyaclaim.
Ifthedamageaffectsserviceability,thenahomeownermaycall theirinsurers-initsownwayitsescapeofwater-justfromthesoil.
CantheUKHighwaytreesreallyhelpfightclimatechange?
Whenweclaimthaturbantreesarehelpingfightthefight againstclimatechangearewejust“kiddingourselves”that theimpactispositive?
Netcarbonbenefitisconditional.
Treesdosequestercarbonastheygrow-butmanagingthem (planting,pruning,removal)usesfossil-fuelmachinerythatemits CO₂,oftenoffsettingtheentirebenefit.
Whentreebiomassischippedintomulchafterremoval,muchof thestoredcarbonisquicklyreleasedbackintotheatmosphere.
Iflargetreesareonaggressivepruningstrategies(asinLondon) thenthetotalcumulativebiomasscutandthenchippedis releasingitscarbonbacktotheatmospherecontinuously.
Heavilyprunedtreeshavelittleshadingbenefit,nowildlifebenefit andarenetemittersofcarbonbacktotheatmosphere.
OKpruningisaproblem,themachinerytherottingchipped waste,thedamagedtreeswithnowildlifeorshadingvalues–so keepthetreesuntouchedanduseengineeredsolutions?
Well,thereisatrendforgeotextileandgeopolymerground stabilisationuseasmodernsolutionsandtheyareoftenshown asanetcarbonsavingintreeretentionandstructural underpinning.
However,wearebacktosquareone,tryourhardesttheretained andun-prunedtreenowmustpaythedebtofthousandsofKG ofCO2eoveritsoften-shortlife.
Thesesolutionsaren’tgreentheyaresimplyaresponseto someonesaying“NO”toafellingrequest.To“sell”themasa greensolutionratherthanaclaimsolutionisn’tappropriate.
So,arewekiddingourselves?
Yes,ifprogrammesplantshort-livedspecies,orheavilyprune longlivedspecies,locatethemwithoutstrategicalignment,then pruneheavily,chopintomulch,andreplacefrequently.
Youendupinacarbon“paybackperiod”farlongerthanthe lifetimeofatree,withthesiteeventuallybecominganetemitter.
Arborist Henry Collings AsanarboriculturistforPRIwithanationalremit,everydayand locationisdifferent.ItcanbeadayofsurveysclosetohomeinDorset anduptheM3corridor,ortrains,ferriesandevenplanestorespondto anurgentrequestforsurveysinNorthernIrelandandScotland.
That’soneofthegreatthingsaboutthejob,seeingallthesesitesand allthedifferentlandscapesthatweencounter.Surveyscanbe residential,deepinawoodland,forengineersonabuildingsiteor surveyingatreefailurewithlegalrecoveryprospectsandmuchmore!
Youhavetoknowwhatdatato collectbecausewhilstthetrees staythesame,thebriefinabusy countryisalwaysdifferent,so focusingoncertainareasor speciesmaybecrucialtothe outcomeofthecase.
Goodtreeidentificationskillsare thebreadandbutter,alongwith recordingaccuratedistances, heights,whilstmaking recommendations.Peopleskills arealsofundamental,greeting homeownerswithasmileonyour faceandliaisingwiththirdparties andLocalAuthoritytreeofficersis aroutineandrewardingpartof thejob.
Roughlyathirdofmytimeis spentintheofficeassistingthe statutoryteamsonconservation areas,treepreservationorder applicationsandhighway issues,aswellasproviding generaladvicetothetreeworks teamamongother departments.
Iamalsodeepintomy
Arboriculturalfoundationdegree course,andit’sbeenfascinating toseethewidebreadthofthe industry.Someofthetopics we’vecoveredsofarincludetree biologyandsoilscience.More recentlywe’vebeencompilinga professionalportfolioandhave begunlookingatwoodland managementpractices.It’s amazinghowstructuredour lawsandlivingspacesareandI amkeentokeeplearningand growingwithintheindustry.
Let’snotforgettheweekends–Iamakeenoutdoorsman, climber,cyclistandhavealoveofracingsmallsailingcraftat competitionlevel,somethingI’vebeeninvolvedwithforovera decade.
TheSubsidenceForum TrainingDay2025 Date-Wednesday 15th October
Location- Mythe Barn, Atherstone, CV9 3PF
Keydemonstrationareas:reduced carbon concrete | laboratory testing of soils | drain repair techniques | micro piling | solutions in restricted access sites |
Abouttheday-
The Subsidence Forum Training Day is a hands-on event designed to deepen your understanding of the latest innovations in subsidence investigation, repair, and monitoring.
Secure your place today by completing the onlinebooking form.
Guest SoapboxConsumer Duty and Subsidence Claims MichaelLawsonasksareweall focussedon“GoodOutcomes”
Onewouldassumewewouldall befullybriefedonwhatthe ConsumerDutyisbuthowdowe asthesupplychaininsubsidence claimssupportourclientsduties.
https://lnkd.in/eHGivcdf
Whatisthesimplestwayto definea“goodoutcome”.
1.
Causeofclaimrapidly identified?
2.Mosteffectiveremedyof causequicklyestablished?
Mitigationtocompleted repairassoonas contractuallypossible?
3. Clearsignpostingof1,2,3in communicationwiththe customer?
4. 5.Availabilityofhighquality support?
Incauseofclaimwehave effectivewell-establishedfield andlaboratorytestsanda wealthofqualificationsand experience.
However,fromitem1forcertain subsidencepathwaystheelephant intheroomis2.consensuson mitigation:
a.Treeremovalisaquick,cost effectiveandacertainwayto moveto3.It’seasytoexplain,it’s veryeffectiveanditallowsrepairs tohappenattheearliestpossible point.
b.Morethan80%oftreeshaveno statutorydesignationsuchthata. canhappenquickly.
Butwhataboutthestatutory cases?
A.B. C.
Thereisastatutoryprocess thatcouldresultinarefusal. PleasenotemanyCouncils donotevenbelievethe causalevidenceandwill arguewithusthatblackis white,andwedon’tknow whatwearedoing. Navigatingthestatutory processwilltaketime.
Thestatutorybodydoesn’t havetocomplywiththe “goodoutcome”framework.
So:
i.Wecouldtrypruningbutit’s costly,uncertainandwillrequire repeatactionsoftenofa neighbouryoucannotcontrol? Strongriskofrecurrence.
ii.Wecouldinsertarootbarrier(it’s terriblymessy)orusea geopolymerstabilisationbutthere islittlepeerreviewandreputable researchthatguaranteessuccess. Recurrenceremainsapossibility.
iii.Wecouldunderpinallthe affectedareasandareasatrisk,its verytimeconsumingand disruptivelikemovingouttohave anewextensionbuilt.Yourlifewill beonhold.Wecannotguarantee itwillworkwith100%certainty.
Soforalargeclassof subsidenceclaimswehave “goodoutcomes”nailed, investigation,methodandthen repairs. Wecanprovethesegood outcomesgivepeopletheirlives backfastandeconomically.
Butthestatutorycases-we sometimescan’tevenget passed1.
MichaelLawson ChiefExecutive
PropertyRiskInspectionLtd
NB:Actually,thestatisticaldata saysthatmorethan70%ofall statutorycaseshaveno objection.
Inrealitywearetalkingabouta smallnumberofcouncilstakinga veryhardlineskewingthedata.
Aswelookdownthebarrelofa 2025surge,howdowemakesure everyconsumerhasagood outcome? Isthesupplychainfocussedonits ownnarrowDELIVERYSLAanddo weevenallagreewhat“good” lookslike?
