U.K. Wildfire Risk Data for Property Insurance Providers

Caroline Elliott-Grey, senior product manager, U.K. and Ireland insurance, LexisNexis Risk Solutions

The U.K. is not typically associated with wildfires, but 2025 challenged that perception. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions analysis of satellite dataⁱ shows 4,659 wildfire detections across the U.K. in 2025. This is the highest figure on record.¹ In response, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a £97 million investment in National Resilience fire and rescue assets, alongside the deployment of specialist wildfire teams. For property insurance providers, this level of public investment underlines how wildfire in the U.K. is now a real and growing risk as the climate changes. For this analysis, a wildfire detection refers to a fire event identified through satellite data. Industrial fires and low-confidence detections have been excluded.

A record year in a record climate

The increase in wildfire activity during 2025 correlates directly with extreme weather conditions. The year was among one of the hottest and sunniest on record in the U.K., following England's driest spring in over a century. Earlier periods of elevated wildfire activity, including 2018, also broke records for heatⁱⁱ. Across the full ten-year period analysed, a clear relationship between temperature, low precipitation and fire frequency emerges.

Spring, not summer, is the primary risk window

One of the most significant findings from the analysis challenges the assumption that wildfires only happen in summer. In 2025, most wildfire activity occurred during spring, with 2,635 detections compared to 1,606 in summer. Early-season fires are typically linked to land management activities such as controlled burning, combined with dry vegetation following winter. As the year progresses, however, wildfire activity moves closer to urban centres, increasing exposure for residential and commercial properties and raising the potential for higher insurance claims severity.

Urban exposure uncovered

For property insurance providers, wildfires may not traditionally have been viewed as a significant threat to homes and businesses. However, LexisNexis Risk Solutions analysis of wildfire detections within 5km of major U.K. towns and cities reveals the extent to which urban areas can be exposed. In 2025, London recorded 39 detections within that radius, followed by Cumbernauld and Croy/Bonnybridge (19), Crawley (15), Poole/Bournemouth (14) and Swansea (12). 

What this means for property insurance providers

Wildfires may still represent a relatively small proportion of U.K. property insurance claims overall, but events such as those seen in 2025 highlight the need for ongoing insurance provider portfolio monitoring during high-risk periods of the year.  

This is where LexisNexis® Geospatial Intelligence data has such a valuable role to play. Historical wildfire data, combined with information on weather patterns, terrain and proximity to infrastructure such as fire stations, can help insurance providers build a location-specific view of risk at the individual property level to support underwriting and pricing decisions. Wildfire exposures can also be visualised using LexisNexis® Map View, providing an immediate picture of risk across one property or an entire insurance provider portfolio. 

Following England's driest spring in over a century in 2025 and multiple heatwaves in 2026, understanding wildfire risk is becoming essential for more informed insurance decisions as the climate risk landscape continues to evolve.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions helps insurance providers assess and manage emerging property. For more information on wildfire risk data and how it can be integrated into insurance provider underwriting workflows, [contact us].

1 This data comes from the NASA FIRMS portal and is direct from the satellites and available in almost real time. The NASA FIRMS portal can be accessed here: NASA | LANCE | FIRMS
i The analysis specifically excludes industrial fires and low-confidence detections, ensuring these figures represent genuine wildfire threats to property and infrastructure.
ii https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/how-has-summer-warmth-changed-in-the-uk