Home insurance payouts hit £6.1bn in 2025, the highest annual total on record since the ABI began collecting the data in 2017. Storm damage claims rose 32% year-on-year, and domestic flood claims rose 38%, setting the backdrop for this analysis by Frontier Home Insurance of the parts of Britain facing the highest combined weather-driven home insurance risk. [1]

 

Key Takeaways

  • Property insurance payouts reached a record £6.1bn in 2025, while the average domestic flood payout rose 60% in a single year to £30,000. [1]
  • In this weather-risk index, Wales ranks first overall, with Scotland close behind, reflecting the strongest combined flood and storm exposure in the public datasets used. [2][7][10][13]
  • Wales records the strongest flood profile in the ranking, while Scotland records the strongest storm and wind profile. [7][10][13][14]
  • The clearest risk cluster sits across Britain’s west and north, with Wales, Scotland, the South West, and the North West all standing out once flood and storm exposure are combined. [2][5][7][10]
  • London is the standout English flood outlier because surface water risk is so concentrated there. [2]
  • Storm Éowyn was the UK’s most powerful windstorm for over a decade, underlining how quickly severe weather can reshape local home insurance risk. [14]

These figures help explain why claims costs are rising, and why national insurance averages can obscure significant differences in local weather exposure. [1][2]

 

How We Built the Ranking: Methodology

This analysis combines three dimensions of weather-related home insurance risk into a single 10-point composite score. Flood risk carried a 40% weighting, storm and wind exposure carried a 40% weighting, and housing stock vulnerability carried a 20% weighting. Scores were normalised across Britain and rounded to one decimal place. Because England, Wales, and Scotland publish flood-risk data on slightly different bases, the final table should be read as a comparative area index rather than a property-level probability model. [2][7][10][17]

Flood Risk Score (40% Weighting)

Flood scores were built from the strongest publicly available flood datasets in each nation. In England, the core source was the Environment Agency’s NaFRA 2024, which tracks properties at risk from rivers, the sea, and surface water. In Wales, this analysis used NRW flood-risk reporting and mapping. In Scotland, it used SEPA’s National Flood Risk Assessment 2025. Because the systems aren’t identical, the flood score is best read as a directional indicator of where flood exposure is most concentrated. [2][7][10]

Storm and Wind Risk Score (40% Weighting)

Storm scores were built around official Met Office storm-season reporting, the severity of named storm impacts between 2024 and 2025, and the concentration of the strongest warning and wind events by area. Key anchors included Storm Darragh in December 2024, Storm Éowyn in January 2025, Storm Amy in October 2025, Storm Floris in August 2025, and Storm Bram in December 2025. [13][14][15][16][18]

Housing Stock Vulnerability Score (20% Weighting)

A lighter vulnerability adjustment was then applied using official dwelling stock totals and government housing evidence. The point here is simple: where housing stock is older, more exposed, or more difficult to repair, weather losses can become more disruptive and more expensive. This was treated as a contextual adjustment rather than a stand-alone ranking factor. [11][12]

 

Britain’s Home Insurance Weather Risk Hotspots: The Full Ranking

 

 

Two patterns stand out. First, Britain’s weather-risk picture is increasingly a western and northern one, with Wales and Scotland well clear once flood and storm exposure are combined. Second, London is the major English exception, not because of wind, but because surface water risk is so concentrated there. The clearest double-exposure areas are those that score highly for both flood and storm risk, especially Wales, Scotland, and parts of northern and western England. This table is a synthesis of official datasets rather than a government-issued league table. [2][7][10][13]

The Areas Most at Risk From Flooding

The flood backdrop has shifted materially. NaFRA 2024 shows that around 6.3 million properties in England are now in areas at risk of flooding from rivers, the sea, or surface water. Of those, 4.6 million are at risk from surface water alone, up 43% on the previous assessment, while the number of properties at the highest levels of river and sea flood risk has increased 88%. With climate change factored in, around 8 million properties in England could be at risk by mid-century. [2][17]

Wales

Wales sits at the top of the flood index used in this analysis. NRW’s latest reporting puts the number of at-risk properties at roughly 275,000, around 1 in 7 properties in Wales. That is a large national exposure base before storm pressure is even added in. [7][9]

Scotland

Scotland ranks second on flood pressure. SEPA’s latest national assessment says around 400,000 properties are now in areas at medium flood risk, equivalent to 1 in 8 properties across Scotland, up from 284,000 in the 2018 assessment. It also says 327,000 properties are at medium risk from surface water and small watercourses. [10][19]

London

London is the standout English flood outlier because of surface water. The Environment Agency says 543,500 properties in London, around 12.6% of the region’s stock, are in high or medium surface water risk areas. That makes London one of the clearest reminders that the modern flood story isn’t only about riverside or coastal homes. [2]

Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber remains one of England’s clearest flood hotspots for river and sea risk. The Environment Agency lists 115,200 properties there in high- or medium-risk areas for rivers and the sea, one of the highest regional totals in England. [2]

East of England

The East of England also stands out, with 270,200 properties in high- or medium-risk surface water flood areas. It doesn’t always dominate the public conversation in the same way as some Western locations, but the concentration of exposed properties is still significant. [2]

Why the Flood Story Has Changed

One of the main implications for home insurance is that the flood picture is no longer only about riverside or coastal homes. Surface water has become a much bigger part of the risk picture, especially in built-up places where drainage pressure, runoff, and impermeable surfaces can intensify losses. [2][17]

 

flood risk graph

The Areas Most at Risk From Storm Damage

Storm pressure has been running high for several seasons. The 2024/25 season produced six named storms, including two that triggered red warnings, Darragh and Éowyn. That followed the 2023/24 season, which saw 12 named storms, the highest total since naming began in 2015. [5][13][14]

Scotland

Scotland tops the storm and wind score. Storm Éowyn was the UK’s most powerful windstorm for over a decade. Storm Floris later brought gusts of 82mph at Wick Airport, one of the sharpest examples of how even the summer period now carries meaningful wind risk. [14][16]

Wales

Wales ranks just behind Scotland on storm risk. Storm Darragh brought a red warning for western England and Wales, with the Met Office describing severe impacts from wind and disruption across the western side of Britain. [13]

South West England

The South West performs strongly because exposed coastal and upland areas repeatedly sit in the path of Atlantic systems. The South West performs strongly because exposed coastal and upland areas repeatedly sit in the path of Atlantic systems, and the 2024/25 season included both Darragh and Éowyn among its six named storms. [5]

North West and North East England

The North West and North East remain firmly in the storm conversation. Storm Amy was forecast to bring widespread inland gusts of 50mph to 60mph across northern Britain, with 70mph to 80mph possible in places, showing how the northern half of the UK continues to absorb a disproportionate share of the strongest systems. [15]

Yorkshire and the Humber

Yorkshire and the Humber doesn’t top the wind score, but it sits in the overlap zone where meaningful storm exposure and meaningful flood exposure meet. That makes it one of the more credible English double-exposure stories in the ranking. [2][13]

Why the Storm Story Matters for Insurance

The key issue for insurers and homeowners is the overlap between flood and storm exposure. Flood-heavy places with repeated storm exposure become more volatile because roof damage, fallen trees, water ingress, saturated ground, and localised flooding can all feed into larger and more expensive claims. [1][13]

 

Why Payouts Are Rising: The Bigger Picture

The rise in payouts isn’t coming from one cause. It’s coming from several pressures landing at once. Storms are stronger and more disruptive. Flood exposure is expanding. And in many places, the housing stock itself is more vulnerable, whether because it’s older, harder to repair, or simply sitting in the wrong place as weather patterns intensify. [1][2][11][12]

Claims Are Climbing Through the Year

The annual £6.1bn figure didn’t arrive out of nowhere. In Q1 2025, insurers paid a record £886m in domestic property claims, including £226m for weather-related damage to homes, up 55% on the previous quarter. In Q2 2025, total property claims reached £1.6bn, a 7% rise on Q1. By the final quarter of 2025, payouts reached £1.5bn. [1][4][8]

Claims Are Also Getting More Severe

There’s a clear gap in severity in the numbers. The average domestic flood payout rose 60% in a year to £30,000. The average storm damage payout reached £2,450, which was £750 more than in 2024. ABI data also shows domestic subsidence payouts reached £307m in 2025, the highest annual total on record. [1][6]

Weather Is Becoming More Variable

The wider climate pattern matters too. The Met Office said summer 2025 was the warmest on record for the UK. Carbon Brief’s review of the UK’s climate in 2025, based on Met Office data, said the year was relatively dry overall at 90% of average rainfall, but that doesn’t cancel out the insurance impact of intense local events, stronger storms, and longer hot spells that can worsen subsidence risk. [16][18]

The data points in the same direction: weather risk is becoming increasingly concentrated, while claim costs are rising. For homeowners in flood- and storm-exposed areas, that makes the quality and suitability of cover more important than the national averages might suggest. [1][2]

Record Payouts, Falling Premiums: The Home Insurance Paradox

One of the clearest tensions in the current market is that in Q4 2025, the average combined buildings and contents premium fell by £14 to £379, and the average buildings-only premium fell from £323 to £312. In the same year, property insurance payouts reached a record £6.1bn, and the average flood payout rose to £30,000. [1]

National Averages Hide Local Risk

These are national averages, and that matters. The ABI’s property insurance tracker is designed to reflect the price customers actually pay, which means the headline figure smooths over sharply different local realities. A relatively low-risk home in a dry suburb and a flood-exposed property near a river or coast both feed into the same national average. [1][8]

Lower Average Premiums Don’t Mean Lower Risk

If you live in one of the places near the top of this ranking, your own premium, excess, or underwriting experience may look very different from the national figure. That’s especially true where flood history, storm exposure, older construction, and non-standard features all come together. [1][2][7][10]

The Real Risk Is Under-Insurance

Having a policy isn’t the same thing as having the right policy. Rebuild values, contents limits, flood wording, storm exclusions, and the treatment of older or specialist properties all matter when a claim lands. The gap between a £379 average annual premium and a £30,000 average flood payout illustrates how misleading average pricing can be in higher-risk areas. [1][4]

 

Ground Zero: Why Wales Sits on Britain’s Weather-Risk Front Line

Wales is the clearest example of combined flood and storm exposure in this analysis. NRW’s latest reporting says around 275,000 properties in Wales are at flood risk, or roughly 1 in 7. At the same time, Atlantic storm exposure keeps Wales near the top of the wind rankings, too. [7][9][13]

Flood Exposure Is Already High

That flood baseline is significant before you even factor in extreme events. Wales doesn’t need an exceptional year to remain highly exposed. It already has a large built-in concentration of at-risk properties spread across river, coastal, and surface water sources. [7][9]

Storm Exposure Adds a Second Layer of Risk

Wales was directly in the path of Storm Darragh’s red warning footprint. That matters because a flood-prone community doesn’t just face water risk. It may also face repeated roof damage, fallen trees, travel disruptions, and power outages from major storm systems. [13][14]

What That Means for Homeowners

For homeowners there, the practical meaning is straightforward. Claims are more likely, recovery can take longer, and standard cover isn’t always as simple for every property type. Flood Re exists to support the availability of flood cover for many eligible homes, and ABI guidance now encourages Build Back Better repairs that can add resilience after flood claims. [3][4]

 

What Homeowners in High-Risk Areas Should Know

If you live in a higher-risk area, start with the basics. Check your address using the relevant flood-risk tool for your nation to see whether your property is in a higher-risk zone. Then review your buildings insurance closely, especially rebuild limits, flood and storm wording, exclusions, and whether your policy is actually suitable for an older or non-standard home. [2][7][10]

Check Your Flood Status Properly

Broad regional averages are useful for trends, but they don’t tell you exactly what your own property looks like. The official flood checkers are the right place to start if you want an address-level picture. [2][7][10]

Review the Details of Your Cover

It’s worth keeping good records too. Up-to-date photos, receipts, a contents inventory, and notes on your property’s condition can all make a future claim easier to evidence and process. If flood is part of your risk profile, check whether your insurer supports Build Back Better. ABI guidance says the scheme can provide up to £10,000 towards resilience improvements when carrying out repairs after a flood. [3][4]

Consider Specialist Cover Where Needed

If your home is older, listed, harder to place, or simply sits outside the most straightforward insurance cases, you may need more specialist cover than a standard policy provides. [4]

Final Thoughts

The £6.1bn paid out in property claims during 2025 doesn’t look like a one-off spike. It looks more like the combined result of stronger storms, wider flood exposure, and a housing stock that isn’t equally resilient in every part of Britain. For homeowners in the areas identified by this analysis, understanding local risk and carefully reviewing cover are becoming increasingly important. [1][2][16]

Methodology Note

This ranking combines three dimensions of weather-related home insurance risk across Britain: flood risk at 40%, storm and wind exposure at 40%, and housing stock vulnerability at 20%. Flood inputs were taken from the Environment Agency’s NaFRA 2024 for England, NRW flood reporting for Wales, and SEPA’s National Flood Risk Assessment 2025 for Scotland. Storm scoring was built from Met Office named-storm reporting and event severity across 2024 and 2025.

Housing vulnerability was treated as a lighter contextual adjustment using official housing stock evidence. Because data coverage and methodology differ slightly between England, Wales, and Scotland, the scores are designed as a comparative area guide, not a property-by-property risk model. All source data is publicly available. [2][7][10][11][13]

Risk scores are based on publicly available data and are intended as a general guide. Individual property risk should be checked using the relevant national flood-risk tools directly. This article is for general information only and doesn’t constitute insurance advice.

FAQs

What’s Driving the Rise in Home Insurance Payouts?

A mix of stronger storms, wider flood exposure, and more expensive claims severity. In 2025 alone, property insurance payouts reached £6.1bn, with storm damage claims up 32% and domestic flood claims up 38%. [1]

Which Parts of Britain Look Most Exposed?

In this ranking, Wales and Scotland come out highest overall, with the South West and North West also standing out. That reflects a mix of elevated flood exposure and repeated severe storm impacts. [2][7][10][13]

Does a Lower Average Premium Mean Risk Is Easing?

No. Average premiums are national figures, so they can hide major local variation. A homeowner in a lower-risk area and one in a flood-prone or storm-exposed area both feed into the same average. [1][8]

How Can I Check Whether My Home Is at Risk of Flooding?

Use the official flood-risk tools for your nation. In England, that means the Environment Agency. Wales and Scotland have their own official systems too. [2][7][10]

What Should I Review on My Policy If I Live in a Higher-Risk Area?

Pay close attention to rebuild value, contents limits, flood and storm wording, exclusions, and whether the policy is suitable for an older or non-standard property. It’s also worth checking whether Build Back Better support is available through your insurer. [3][4]

References

  1. Association of British Insurers (2026) ‘Adverse weather pushes property insurance payouts to £6.1 billion in 2025’, 17 February. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2026/2/adverse-weatherpushesproperty-insurance-payouts-to-6.1-billionin-2025/
  2. Environment Agency (2025) National Assessment of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk in England 2024. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-assessment-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england-2024/national-assessment-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england-2024
  3. Association of British Insurers (2025) ‘ABI launches updated floods guide to help households recover and rebuild’, October 2025. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2025/10/abi-launches-updated-floods-guide-to-help-households-recover-and-rebuild/
  4. Association of British Insurers (2025) ‘Funding for flood defences crucial as the bill for bad-weather hits record quarterly high’, 7 May. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2025/5/q1-property-premiums-and-claims-data/
  5. Met Office (2025) ‘UK storm season 2024/25’. Available at: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/uk-storm-centre/uk-storm-season-2024-25
  6. Association of British Insurers (2025) ‘Insurance support tops £150 million for homes affected by subsidence’, 11 August. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2025/7/insurance-support-tops-150-million-for-homes-affected-by-subsidence/
  7. Natural Resources Wales (2025) ‘Flood Risk Management Annual Report 2024 to 2025’. Available at: https://naturalresources.wales/evidence-and-data/research-and-reports/flooding-reports-evidence-and-data/flood-risk-management-annual-report-2024-to-2025/?lang=en
  8. Association of British Insurers (2025) ‘Property insurance payouts underscore continued support for homes and businesses’, 29 July. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2025/7/1.6-billion-paid-in-property-claims-in-q2-2025/
  9. Welsh Government (2025) ‘Well-being of Wales 2025: A resilient Wales’. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/wellbeing-wales-2025-resilient-wales-html
  10. Scottish Environment Protection Agency (2025) National Flood Risk Assessment 2025. Available at: https://beta.sepa.scot/media/2kliy0j5/national-flood-risk-assessment-2025.pdf
  11. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2026) ‘Live Tables on Dwelling Stock (Including Vacants)’. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
  12. Environment Agency (2024) National assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk in England 2024. Publication page. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-assessment-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england-2024
  13. Met Office (2025) ‘UK storm season 2023/24’. Available at: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/uk-storm-centre/uk-storm-season-2023-24
  14. Met Office (2025) ‘A look back on Storm Éowyn’, 31 January. Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2025/a-look-back-on-storm-eowyn
  15. Met Office (2025) ‘Storm Amy named’, October 2025. Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2025/storm-amy-named
  16. Met Office (2025) ‘Summer 2025 is the warmest on record for the UK’, 1 September. Available at: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/news-and-media/media-centre/weather-and-climate-news/2025/summer-2025-is-the-warmest-on-record-for-the-uk
  17. Environment Agency (2024) ‘Transforming our understanding of flood and coastal erosion risk in England’, 17 December. Available at: https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/17/transforming-our-understanding-of-flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-in-england/
  18. Carbon Brief (2026) ‘Met Office: A review of the UK’s climate in 2025’, 30 January. Available at: https://www.carbonbrief.org/met-office-a-review-of-the-uks-climate-in-2025/
  19. Scottish Environment Protection Agency (2025) ‘One in eight properties across Scotland at medium risk of flooding’, 18 December. Available at: https://beta.sepa.scot/news/2025/one-in-eight-properties-across-scotland-at-medium-risk-of-flooding/