Perils: Property insurance claims newsletter, August 2026
The summer of 2026 has tested the UK property insurance market in ways that would have seemed improbable only a few years ago. Wildfires burning across 19 sites simultaneously. A third heatwave triggering fears of a fourth consecutive subsidence surge. Record property claims payouts – £6.1bn in 2025 alone – arriving alongside two years of falling premiums.
Each of these developments, taken individually, would command attention. Taken together, they describe a market under structural pressure that pricing discipline alone cannot resolve.
This edition of Perils addresses both the emerging risks and the legal questions they generate. We open with an analysis of five key trends reshaping UK property damage insurance.
The case law content is equally rich. Laura Brown analyses the Commercial Court’s judgment in Nord Stream AG v Lloyd’s, examining the court’s approach to indirect causation and the scope of war risk exclusions – a decision with broad implications beyond the energy sector. Abigail Richardson reviews CP Holdings v Generali, in which insurers succeeded on every ground in dismissing €160m of COVID-19 business interruption claims.
Alistair Hunt examines three emerging fire risks – ageing solar panels, lithium-ion battery thermal runaway and butane hash oil explosions – while Francesca Townsend reports on Willis’s innovative parametric flood solution for UK racecourses.
We hope you find this issue of Perils informative. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
Contents
- UK property insurance in 2026: Five trends reshaping risk, pricing and coverage
- Nord Stream v Lloyd's: War risk exclusions, indirect causation and the limits of pipeline cover
- Under the weather: How COVID-19 satisfactorily defeated CP Holdings’ €160m insurance claim
- Fire risks for UK insurers: Solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and hash oil explosions
- Willis’ parametric trigger cracks the flood cover gap
- Secondary perils, record losses and a widening protection gap: What the data means for insurers
Contact
Rachael Murphy
Principal Associate
rachael.murphy@brownejacobson.com
+44 (0)115 976 6219
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Perils: Property insurance claims newsletter, August 2026
UK property insurance in 2026: Five trends reshaping risk, pricing and coverage
Nord Stream v Lloyd's: War risk exclusions, indirect causation and the limits of pipeline cover
Under the weather: How COVID-19 satisfactorily defeated CP Holdings’ €160m insurance claim
Fire risks for UK insurers: Solar panels, lithium-ion batteries and hash oil explosions
Willis’ parametric trigger cracks the flood cover gap
Secondary perils, record losses and a widening protection gap: What the data means for insurers in 2026
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