A shortage of tilers and bricklayers is pushing up claims costs even as broader supply conditions stabilise, Crawford & Company says.

The claims management group’s head of contractor connection Tim Butler says construction industry inflation has not eased as much or as evenly as many expected.

Factors keeping claims costs elevated are “structural, local and unlikely to unwind quickly. Claims are still costing more, not because the market is chaotic, but because capacity is tight and complexity is rising.

“These pressures are flowing through to the outcomes insurers care about most: severity, duration, costs and variability.

“Many of the biggest cost pressures are macro and largely outside insurers’ control. That said, there are insurance-specific drivers too: localised surge pricing flowing through to empanelled builders, rapid shifts in compliance requirements, and the growing role of cash settlements.”

Crawford says availability of materials is stabilising overall, but delays persist in flooring, kitchen supplies and glazing. Scarcity can extend programs and make time a material cost. Category constraints can drive claims cost variability even when broader supply conditions stabilise.

And Crawford says claims in more complex operating environments such as strata are compounded by access constraints, multiparty approvals and shared services that can increase duration and “amplify quote variability”.

Overall claims inflation comes down to a “widening gap between average outcomes and difficult outcomes”, with duration playing a bigger cost role as capacity constraints and complexity compound.

Shortages of trades are not universal, Crawford says, but are concentrated in “repair‑critical” work where timing and sequencing matter most.  

“These trades are essential to making a home safe, dry and liveable again. When even one or two are constrained, the entire job slows, regardless of easing pressure elsewhere in the workforce.” 

Southeast Queensland is a hotspot as major projects compete with repair labour.