Heatwave warning: don’t let your home insurance be the thing that lets you down

When the temperature climbs, most of us think about staying cool and staying safe. That is exactly right. Hot weather can be genuinely dangerous, especially for older people, young children, pregnant women and anyone with an underlying health condition, and that has to come first.1 

But here’s the bit people forget. While you’re looking after yourself, your house needs looking after too. A prolonged hot, dry spell can quietly cause problems that end up costing you a lot more than a fan and a cold drink. If you own a home, let one out, or live in one, now is the time to check you’re properly covered, not after something has gone wrong. 

Heat doesn’t just affect you. It affects your house. 

One warm week isn’t going to bring your house down. But weeks of hot, dry weather is a different story, and the risk to watch for is subsidence. 

Subsidence happens when the ground under a building sinks, taking the foundations with it. It’s more likely where the soil is clay rich, or where trees and shrubs are pulling moisture out of the ground as it dries out.2 

Not every crack means subsidence. But don’t ignore the signs. Watch for cracks wider than 3mm, cracks that run diagonally, cracks that are wider at the top than the bottom, or cracks you can see on both the inside and outside of the property. Doors and windows suddenly sticking is another warning sign that the building has moved. 

If you spot any of this, don’t sit on it. Contact your insurer straight away and follow their advice before you arrange any repairs yourself. 

Know exactly what your insurance covers. Not what you assume it covers. 

This is the part I feel strongly about. Too many people assume their policy will sort everything out, and only find out otherwise when they’re making a claim. That’s the worst possible time to discover a gap in your cover. 

Buildings insurance protects the structure of your home, your walls, roof, floors and permanent fixtures. Contents insurance protects what’s inside it. Some policies also include subsidence cover, alternative accommodation if you can’t live in the property, accidental damage, garden items or freezer contents, but this varies hugely from policy to policy.3 

So before the next heatwave hits, get your policy out and check: 

• Does your buildings insurance actually include subsidence cover? 

• What excess applies if you do need to make a subsidence claim? It’s often higher than other claims. 

• Are garden items, sheds, outbuildings or external equipment covered? 

• Is freezer content covered if it fails during hot weather or a power cut? 

• Is accidental damage included? 

• Would you get alternative accommodation if your home became unliveable? 

The cheapest policy isn’t automatically the right one. The right policy is the one that actually pays out when you need it to. 

Small, practical steps that make a real difference 

You don’t need to overhaul your life to protect your property in hot weather. A few sensible habits go a long way. 

Keep your gutters, pipes and drains properly maintained. Leaks can affect the ground around your home and contribute to movement over time. If you’ve got trees or large shrubs close to the house, keep them managed properly, and get professional advice before removing anything mature. Taking a tree out suddenly can cause its own ground movement. You may also need local authority permission to remove a tree.  

Inside, keep rooms cooler by closing curtains or blinds on the sunny side of the house, and open windows when it’s cooler outside. Check your fridge, freezer and fans are actually working properly, not just running. If you’re heading away during a heatwave, ask someone you trust to keep an eye on the property, particularly if you’vegot vulnerable appliances, pets or plants relying on you. 

Don’t wait for your renewal letter to check your cover 

Most people only think about their insurance once a year, when the renewal letter lands on the mat. That’s not good enough. Your circumstances change more often than that, and your cover needs to keep up. 

You should review your policy if you’ve extended your home, bought expensive items, started working from home, added a garden building, installed solar panels, taken in a lodger, or changed how the property is used. 

And if you’re a landlord, please don’t assume standard home insurance has you covered. It probably doesn’t. You need proper landlord insurance built for a let property, not a residential policy stretched to cover something it was never designed for. 

If you’re not sure, ask. That’s what we’re here for. 

Your mortgage is likely one of the biggest financial commitments you’ll ever make. Protecting the property behind it isn’t optional, it’s just sensible. The right insurance means that if the worst happens, you’re not left carrying the full cost on your own. 

If you’re not sure whether your current home insurance is right for you, or whether it still reflects your property and your circumstances, talk to us. We’ll help you understand your options honestly, and make sure your buildings and contents cover actually does what you need it to do. 

Important Disclaimers: 

This article is for general information only and does not replace personalised advice. Insurance policies vary by provider, level of cover, exclusions and excess. Always check your own policy documents and speak to your insurer or adviser if you’re unsure of anything. 

If you fail to disclose information, or misrepresent a fact, to your insurer, you risk the insurer only paying part of a claim, refusing to pay the claim at all, or declaring your policy invalid altogether. 

We do not charge a fee for mortgage advice. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other debt secured on it. 

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The information provided in this article, including text, graphics, and images, does not, and is not intended to, substitute professional financial advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Information in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. 

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