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Caroline Elliott-Grey highlights increasing wildfire risk for British homeowners as climate change impacts property values.

Caroline Elliott-Grey, a senior product manager at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, notes that wildfire risk is becoming as critical as flood or subsidence risk for property insurance providers. This shift is driven by human-made climate change and El Niño events, which have produced an unprecedentedly hot and dry summer in the UK. Research from the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) indicates that 33 per cent of homeowners are concerned that fire, overheating, and subsidence could impact house prices. Insurers are increasingly expected to incorporate wildfire risk assessments for individual properties. Homes on the rural-urban interface are particularly vulnerable due to high vegetation density and human activity. Furthermore, the British Geological Survey (BGS) predicts that over 1.8 million homes could be impacted by subsidence by 2070. While flooding risk remains a significant concern, UKSIF and Public First predict that 430,000 homes could become 'climate mortgage prisoners' by 2050, potentially causing property prices in high-risk regions to fall by more than 20 per cent.

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