Insurance claims from UK homes and businesses saw a sharp rise last year thanks in large part to weather-related damages caused by a succession of storms, underscoring the growing challenges faced by British insurance companies from the worsening climate impacts.

That is according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which today revealed the value of claims paid out by property insurers to homes and businesses rose 11 per cent last year compared to 2022.

The trade association said the key trend behind the increase was the “massive” rise in the value of weather-related damage claims from UK homeowners, which reached an all-time high of £573m last year in large part due to storm-driven flooding and strong winds.

The result marks an increase of more than a third compared to the £421m of weather-related damage claims from UK homes in 2022, the ABI said.

The trend was mirrored by UK businesses, which resulted in £443m in weather-related damage claims in 2023, according to the ABI, bringing the total value of weather-related damage claims from homes and businesses to over £1bn.

“Extreme weather events may not feel so rare as they used to as we grapple with a changing climate,” said ABI policy adviser Louise Clark. “Insurers continue to be there for affected homeowners, with payouts hitting record levels after a particularly difficult autumn and winter with seemingly countless storms, from Agnes onwards leading to significant flooding.”

The trade association highlighted how the succession of storms that struck UK shores last Autumn – including Storms Babet, Ciaran and Debi – caused £113m of damage to homes from high winds and debris, and a further £286m in claims from subsequent flooding.

A further £153m of weather claims came from burst pipes, most of which were incurred in the first three months of 2023 at the tail end of a cold winter, it added.

“While insurance will continue to protect homeowners and businesses, we can’t afford to lose momentum on our flood defence programme, and we continue to press the government for further investment in flood defence and maintenance, as well as calling for changes to the planning system to discourage building where flooding might be more likely,” said Clark.

The news comes amidst growing warnings of the impact of increasingly volatile and extreme weather events on domestic food security.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has this week again warned that months of record-breaking rainfall is adversely affecting British vegetable supplies, with some farmers hit by waterlogged fields and unable to plant crops for the summer ahead.

As such, some food buyers are even being forced to import carrots from as far afield as Israel, according to BBC News.

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