A tree-hugging approach to valuation.

It’s a tale of trees, insurance companies and subsidence. A new system for valuing trees is being adopted by local authorities in a bid to stop trees being blamed for subsidence in buildings.

This tree-hugging approach is being adopted because insurers have been blamed for being too quick to fell trees because they suspect them of causing damage to neighbouring properties.

In future, higher value trees will require extra engineering work by insurers to prove a link between and tree and subsidence.

And it seems trees are surprisingly expensive. According to The Times the average street tree is worth between £8,000 and £12,000. And Britain’s most expensive tree is a plane in Mayfair which is valued at £750,000.

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.

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