Carbon cost of UK domestic building repairs revealed as claims soar

Domestic building repairs in the UK have a carbon cost of 1,496.6 kg in CO2e — equivalent to an average-sized petrol car driving 9,131 miles.

That was according to claims management provider Sedgwick, which based its data on all repair contracts handled by its contractor network during the first half of 2024.

It revealed that that an average of 1kg in CO2e is produced for every £7.80 spent on domestic building repairs.

This comes after data published by the ABI in August 2024 revealed that insurers paid out £1.4bn in claims for property damage during Q2 2024.

Sedgwick explained that based on the firm’s average of a 1,496.6 KG CO2e value for an £8,000 claim, this equates to a total industry carbon emissions figure of approximately 326,504 T CO2e.

The firm determined the figures using its carbon value calculator, which was launched in December 2023.

Peter Wassell, technical director of UK repair solutions at Sedgwick, said: “Establishing the baseline for carbon emissions in insurance-related building repairs is the first crucial step towards achieving carbon neutrality across the industry.

“More work must be done to promote sustainable repair programmes and we can now provide tangible evidence of the measurable benefits they deliver.”

Opportunities

The carbon value calculator also identified that flood and escape of water claim repairs contribute to the highest carbon emissions.

Sedgwick explained that options to reduce these emissions include using new low-carbon materials, such as insulation and emulsion.

And across the entire portfolio of claims, Sedgwick said substituting low-carbon hemp insulation and graphene paint for traditional materials could reduce carbon costs by 4.03%.

Neil Gibson, chief executive at Sedgwick UK, said: “Our high-performing carbon value calculator is an in-house proprietary innovation that showcases our commitment to leading and promoting sustainable claims management practices.

“The calculator’s day-to-day application provides clients with the support they need to document carbon emission savings at no additional cost.”