The repair capacity gap

5.1 A shrinking market

3948

construction businesses folded in 2025, up 20% on 2019.

206000

more construction workers needed by 2030. (CITB)

758

UK restoration companies are increasingly concentrated among a few national providers (IBISWorld)

16%

of insolvencies reported by The Insolvency Service in 2025.

72%

of SME repair contractors are affected by a shortage of skilled tradespeople, up from 61% in H1 2025 (FMB / CIOB State of Trade Survey H2 2025)

In an extreme weather-related surge, property claims numbers are likely to rise faster than the market can evaluate, staff, supply, and complete repairs. This will turn damage events into longer, costlier, and more disruptive recovery programmes.

Pre-qualifying repair partners before a surge hits can mean the difference between competing for scarce contractor capacity and simply activating support already in place.

5.2 The key gaps

Skills shortage

not enough trades to meet a labour-heavy repair surge.

Contractor squeeze

SME networks can be overwhelmed fast.

Supply-chain drag

materials and specialists take longer to secure.

Failure risk

contractor insolvency can stop works mid-claim.

Surge shock

one regional event can exhaust normal repair capacity.

5.3 Contractor Survey

Sedgwick Repair Solutions surveyed over 50 insurance-approved national managed network building repair contractors and asked for their views and recent practical experience on a variety of topics.

The responses show that, in the last year:

74% had seen material costs increase by more than 3%

64% reported labour costs increased similarly

45% see cost inflation as the biggest challenge in the next 12 months

68% were confident / very confident in the insurance repair market

40% reported the cost of training and supervision as barriers to recruiting apprentices

Trades under greatest recruitment or capacity pressure

AI-assisted technology

We asked the same property repair contractors for specific feedback on their use or potential future application of AI-assisted technologies:

75% already use generative AI – Copilot, ChatGPT, etc.

40% report it helps reduce administration

80% expect AI to support less than 25% of workload within three years

Adoption of specialist tools – image recognition, automated estimating, remote inspections – remains low.

The uptake is therefore widespread but shallow.

Firms mainly use general-purpose AI tools, with benefits concentrated in administration rather than in technical decision-making. Concerns consistently emphasise accuracy, real-world context, professional oversight and preserving empathetic customer contact.

ACT NOW Can your repair contractor network flex to surge volumes? Do you have backup capacity if your primary network is overwhelmed?

Surge events don’t wait for the market to catch up. Many building contractors have adjusted capacity to match demand, and skills shortages make it harder to scale up quickly. Pre-qualifying restoration and repair partners now means you can activate support, not compete for it.”

Ian Gibbs National Technical Manager, Sedgwick Repair Solutions