Help - subsidence worry. Am i not covered by my buildings insurance?

Premier_2

It already has a history ... and it appears to crop up whenever the property is surveyed.

The only way to overcome this is to provide an independent report showing the building has stopped moving and any rectification work has been completed.

Martin_T_3

Premier wrote: »

It already has a history ... and it appears to crop up whenever the property is surveyed.

The only way to overcome this is to provide an independent report showing the building has stopped moving and any rectification work has been completed.

Yes I agree it is a tricky position however there is always a chance that a buyer will get a valuation rather then a home buyers survey. In which case the past historic movement will not necessarily come up.

However if the seller does not need to sell then it is debatable whether they need to inform the insurers.

Premier_2

Martin_T wrote: »

...However if the seller does not need to sell then it is debatable whether they need to inform the insurers.

Well if they are happy not to have any subsidence cover, yeah, I suppose...

Martin_T_3

Premier wrote: »

Well if they are happy not to have any subsidence cover, yeah, I suppose...

As I have mentioned in my earlier posts the original poster has answered the questions that their insurance company asked to the best of their knowledge as a lay person. They are not a structural engineer and therefore can net be expected to know that the 'past historic movement' mentioned in the survey was subsidence. If there was no action on their home buyers survey to get a structural engineers report they have acted appropriately.

Premier_2

Martin_T wrote: »

As I have mentioned in my earlier posts the original poster has answered the questions that their insurance company asked to the best of their knowledge as a lay person. They are not a structural engineer and therefore can net be expected to know that the 'past historic movement' mentioned in the survey was subsidence. If there was no action on their home buyers survey to get a structural engineers report they have acted appropriately.

See post#8

As you said, the poster is not an expert so should have disclosed the fact as it was possibly 'material' and let the experts decide...or in this case the insurer.

The poster doesn't need to get a surveyor in to prove there is movement - there is already a disclosed history of that fact. The poster would need a surveyor to prove the house is no longer moving.

Martin_T_3

Premier wrote: »

See post#8

As you said, the poster is not an expert so should have disclosed the fact as it was possibly 'material' and let the experts decide...or in this case the insurer.

As the poster is not an expert they are may also not be in position to judge was is possibly 'material' . It comes down to what should be reasonably expected of a lay person.

A lay person would not necessarily have any knowledge or experience of subsidence or even know what subsidence is. They have commissioned a survey on the property to asses the condition of the property to be conducted by an expert. The survey down not mention subsidence.

Premier_2

Insurers are aware of the fact that their customers may not be experts and that's why most insurance forms suggest that if you are unsure whether or not a fact is material, it should be disclosed and then there can be no misunderstandings.

Failure to do so could result in a subsequent claim being rejected.

twiglets wrote:

...When we bought the house we had a homebuyers survey which revealed that there had been some previous movement casued by damage to the drains...

For a non-expert, that seems like something that should be disclosed to me.

twiglets_2

Thanks for everyones advice. There are going to be any easy answers for me!

I'm inclined to agree with Martin T's comments. I am now thinking that perhaps I won't tell my insurance company. As far as I'm concerned, none of my paperwork from when I bought the house mentions the word 'subsidence'. The survey we had never recommended a strtural engineers report and there was never any mention of the need for special insurance by either the surveyor, the solicitors or our mortgage company.

I think I will just keep quiet about the buyers survey because I never commissioned it and I don't have a copy of it - as has been suggested, it could just be a ploy by my buyers to get a cheaper price or an excuse to pull out because of the state of the market.

I'm almost 100% sure my house isn't still moving - no new damage. Also, I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to claim on insurance should I be unlucky enough to have any other problems with the house because 3 years ago we got £1,000 for damage unrelated to the drain issue.

I think I'm just going to sit tight for now. I don't really have to sell my house so can stay there for a while and try to sell again in the future. I'm hoping a future survey may not pick up any problems because I think the only reason they did this time was because I was too honest and told them about it and passed on the drainage report and guarantee for the work at the outset!!

I'm really grateful for everyone's advice on this - thanks very much. Fingers crossed I'm not making the wrong decision!

FIVEINAROW

Good luck twiglets, I rally hope you have made the right decision too.

twiglets_2

Another update - I've changed my mind about what to do! It seems the buyers soliciotrs have told my solicitors that my house has had subsidence and my solicitors want to advise me and get a copy of the survey.

There is clearly now a record of the fact that there are subsidence concerns about my house so I think I need to make sure I declare anything I need to. As a first step I'm now going to instruct a structural engineer to check the house and give a second (and expert!) opinion.