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Story summary
- UK homeowners face rising subsidence damage as record heat drives clay shrink-swell.
- Association of British Insurers paid £72 million in Q2 2026 subsidence claims, average £20,000.
- Subsidence payouts rose 10 percent in 2025 versus 2024, a record high.
- British Geological Survey projects 1.8 million UK homes vulnerable to clay shrink-swell by 2070 under a medium-emissions scenario.
- Under a high-emissions scenario, the survey estimates over 4.2 million UK properties (11 percent) may face extreme clay shrink-swell.