The short answer
The excess on a subsidence claim is typically around £1,000 in the UK, which is considerably higher than the standard buildings excess (often £100–£250). This higher figure is a long-standing convention across the home insurance market and reflects the cost and frequency of subsidence claims. It is a compulsory excess set by the insurer, separate from any voluntary excess you choose to lower your premium. On properties with a history of movement or recent underpinning, the subsidence excess can be set higher — sometimes £2,500 or more — or specialist terms may apply. The excess is the first portion of the claim you pay before the insurer contributes, and it applies per claim, not per repair. Because subsidence works can run to many thousands of pounds, the excess is usually small relative to the total cost the insurer funds.
Excess is the amount you contribute toward a claim before your insurer pays the rest. Subsidence is treated differently from other damage, so its excess works differently too. The sections below explain the figures and when they change.
Excess at a glance
- Typical subsidence excessAround £1,000
- Standard buildings excessOften £100–£250
- TypeCompulsory, set by insurer
- AppliesPer subsidence claim
- Higher-risk propertiesCan be £2,500+
Why subsidence has its own excess
Insurers apply a separate, higher excess to subsidence for two main reasons. First, subsidence claims are expensive and complex — investigation, monitoring and repair often run into five figures. Second, the higher excess discourages very small or speculative claims and keeps the cover affordable across the whole market. The roughly £1,000 figure has become the market norm and you will see it on most standard policies. It is set by the insurer and you generally cannot remove it, unlike the voluntary excess you choose to reduce your premium.
- Compulsory excess: fixed by the insurer for subsidence; usually around £1,000.
- Voluntary excess: chosen by you on the rest of the policy; does not normally apply on top of the subsidence figure unless the wording says so.
- Total excess: check whether your policy stacks any voluntary excess onto the compulsory subsidence excess.
When the excess is higher
If your property has previously suffered subsidence, been underpinned, or sits in a higher-risk area (for example on shrinkable clay with mature trees nearby), an insurer may set a raised subsidence excess as a condition of cover. This is a way of sharing more of the risk with you rather than declining the property outright. Figures of £2,500, £5,000 or higher are not unusual on properties with a movement history, and some specialist insurers price subsidence excess as a percentage of the sum insured.
| Property situation | Typical subsidence excess |
|---|---|
| Standard property, no history | Around £1,000 |
| Minor past movement, now stable | £1,000–£2,500 |
| Previously underpinned | £2,500–£5,000+ |
| Active or ongoing monitoring | Higher or specialist terms |
Indicative ranges for guidance only; actual figures are set by each insurer. Sources: ABI subsidence guidance, MoneyHelper.
How the excess is paid
You do not normally write a cheque for the excess up front. Instead, the insurer deducts the excess from the settlement or arranges for you to contribute it toward the works. Because subsidence repairs are often managed and paid for directly by the insurer through approved contractors, the practical effect is that the insurer covers the full repair cost minus your excess. The excess applies once per claim for the event, even though a subsidence claim involves several stages of investigation and repair over many months.
It helps to see the excess in proportion. A full subsidence investigation and repair, where underpinning is needed, can run well into five figures; against that, a £1,000 excess is a modest share. Even on lighter claims resolved by drain repair and redecoration, the insurer is usually still funding more than you contribute. The excess is therefore best understood as the threshold that keeps the cover meaningful for genuine structural events, rather than a charge that materially erodes what you recover.
Excess versus loaded premium
On a property with a movement history, insurers manage the extra risk through two levers: a higher premium and a higher subsidence excess. They are doing the same job — sharing more of the risk with you — but they fall at different times. A higher premium is a cost you pay every year whether or not anything goes wrong; a higher excess only bites if you actually claim. When comparing offers on a previously affected home, weigh the two together. A policy with a slightly higher annual premium but a much lower subsidence excess may serve you better if there is a realistic chance of a future claim, while a low premium with a £5,000 excess effectively asks you to self-insure the first slice of any subsidence loss.
Read the schedule carefully, because the documents do not always make this obvious. The subsidence excess is usually shown separately from the standard excess, and any voluntary excess you chose to lower the premium may or may not stack on top. If the wording is unclear, ask the insurer to confirm in writing exactly what you would pay on a subsidence claim before you commit.
Excess on the rest of the claim
It is worth being clear about what the subsidence excess does and does not apply to. The higher subsidence figure applies to a claim caused by subsidence, heave or landslip. A separate, ordinary claim — say storm damage to the roof, or an escape of water from a burst pipe — carries the standard buildings excess, which is far lower. The two are not interchangeable, and a single incident does not attract both. Knowing which excess applies tells you, before you report, roughly what your contribution will be.
There is one grey area worth checking: damage to boundary walls, paths, drives and patios. Many policies only cover subsidence to these if the main house is damaged at the same time, and where they are covered, the same subsidence excess usually applies. If a garden wall cracks but the house is sound, the claim may fall outside cover altogether rather than simply attracting the excess. As with the rest of the subsidence section, the policy wording is what governs the outcome, so read the definitions and exclusions rather than relying on a general expectation.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the subsidence excess so much higher?
Subsidence claims are costly and complex, so insurers apply a higher compulsory excess — typically around £1,000 — to reflect that and to keep cover affordable. It is a market-wide convention rather than a charge unique to your insurer.
Can I reduce my subsidence excess?
The compulsory subsidence excess is set by the insurer and usually cannot be removed or reduced, unlike the voluntary excess you choose on the rest of the policy. On higher-risk properties it may be set even higher as a condition of cover.
Do I pay the excess up front?
Usually not. The insurer deducts the excess from the settlement or arranges for you to contribute it toward the repair works, rather than asking for payment before the claim begins.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific property. They are guidance, not a quotation.