Does Home Insurance Cover Concrete Subsidence?

The honest answer is: sometimes, but usually not for floor slabs alone, and the excess often makes a claim financially pointless even when coverage applies.

What standard buildings insurance covers

UK buildings insurance is event-based. You're covered for sudden, unforeseen damage from specific named perils. Subsidence is included in most standard policies, but the wording matters.

Insurers draw a clear distinction between three ground movement types:

Subsidence: sudden downward movement of the ground supporting the structure. Covered under most policies.

Settlement: gradual compaction of soil under a building's own weight over time. Commonly excluded, particularly on newer properties.

Heave: upward ground movement, typically from clay re-wetting after a dry period. Usually covered, sometimes sub-limited.

Critically, most policies treat internal floor slabs differently from structural floors. A concrete driveway, patio, or garage floor slab is not, in standard policy terms, a structural element of the building. Coverage for isolated slab subsidence with no associated structural movement (no cracking walls, no sticking doors, no distortion to lintels) is uncommon. The ABI's guidance on subsidence cover covers what's typically included and how claims are handled.

The excess problem

Subsidence excesses in UK buildings insurance are typically £1,000. Many run to £2,500 or more, as the ABI notes. A residential resin injection job for a driveway or garage floor frequently costs less than this. Even where coverage technically applies, making a claim produces no net financial benefit.

There's a secondary cost: subsidence claims create a notation in the property's history that insurers share via databases. That notation can affect the terms available from future insurers and can complicate a sale, where it must be disclosed in the property information forms. Compare against the resin injection cost ranges before deciding whether to claim.

When it's worth making a claim

If floor subsidence is accompanied by cracking of internal walls, sticking doors, or distortion to window frames (signs the movement has reached the structure), the claim has more substance. Insurers will instruct a structural engineer to assess whether the damage constitutes a qualifying subsidence event. If it does, they manage the investigation and remediation. Our home subsidence page covers the floor side of this.

Insurers typically require a period of monitoring (often 12 months) before committing to repair works. The purpose is to distinguish active movement from a past event. During this period the property is inspected periodically and any new cracking logged. This timeline is frustrating for homeowners but is standard practice.

For isolated external slabs or internal floors with no structural involvement, a private repair without involving your insurer is usually faster, often cheaper after excess, and avoids any record on the property.

Documentation if you think a claim may follow

Whether or not you plan to involve your insurer, documenting the condition of your property after subsidence symptoms appear protects your position:

• Photograph all visible cracks with a scale reference, dated
• Record when symptoms first appeared and what you observed
• Keep any reports from contractors or surveyors
• Note whether symptoms are progressive (getting worse) or static

If you do bring in a structural engineer, they will typically carry out a RICS HomeBuyer or Building Survey level assessment and issue a report identifying the cause, extent, and recommended action. This report is the key document for an insurer.

Finding the right professional

For structural subsidence involving wall cracking, a RICS-registered structural engineer or building surveyor is the appropriate starting point. The RICS member directory at rics.org allows searches by location and specialism.

For isolated floor slab settlement with no structural involvement, a specialist resin injection contractor with a track record in residential levelling is the right call. Their site survey will confirm whether the slab is the issue or whether the problem is more serious. See the warning signs guide to decide which route applies to your symptoms.

Commercial property

Commercial buildings insurance follows similar principles but with a public liability dimension alongside the property claim. A settled external slab that has caused or could cause injury to a visitor creates liability exposure that sits separately from the property damage question. Most commercial policies bundle both, but the claims handling runs on different tracks. See uneven floors and legal liability for the commercial angle, then arrange a survey to scope a private repair.