Rising UK weather payouts prompt ABI calls for more flood defence funding

By Edward Carron

May 7 - (The Insurer) - Weather-related damage to UK homes totalled 226 million pounds during the first quarter of 2025, the Association of British Insurers said on Wednesday.

The ABI said the damage represented the highest quarterly loss on record. However, the association's current data sets only track back to 2017 so its records do not include the 3 billion pounds in insured losses it estimated from the June/July flooding in 2007.

First-quarter weather damage exceeds the previous highest quarter within the ABI's data set by 67 million pounds.

This year's first quarter claims were driven by Storm Eowyn, described by the Met Office as the UK’s most powerful windstorm in over a decade.

The ABI's data shows insurers paid out 886 million pounds in domestic property claims in Q1 2025, an increase of 145 million pounds or 20% on the first quarter of 2024.

Alongside adverse weather, this also included damage from fire, theft and subsidence.

Commercial weather damage claims amounted to 109 million pounds, a 7% increase from Q1 2024.

The total cost of property claims for both domestic and commercial buildings reached 1.5 billion pounds in the first quarter of 2025, up 13% from the previous year.

Louise Clark, manager of general insurance policy at the ABI, called for a government commitment of at least one billion pounds in annual flood defence investment, alongside strategies to address surface water flooding and build climate-resilient homes.

While the average price of combined building and contents insurance fell slightly to 393 pounds in Q1 2025, it remains 7% higher compared to Q1 2024 which the ABI said was due to persistent high claim costs.