Subsidence

colbee

Ever done something you wish you hadn't? My 'benefit of hindsight' moment came following a claim on buildings insurance.
Loss-adjusters determined that external wall cracks were caused by a fractured drain. The cost to the insurance company was around £3500, less £1000 policy excess.
It was this particular insurance company's misfortune that the 'new business' policy had been in place only a matter of a few weeks, although the house had been continuously insured for at least the previous 20 years with different companies.
The company renewed the policy the second year but when that expired it declined to offer further cover, citing the 'subsidence' claim as the reason. The ABI and the FSO refused to intervene as, in their views, the insurance company was within its rights in making a commercial decision to decline further cover.
I find this a bit of a mystery - if the company has confidence in the integrity of the repair, then continued cover would enable it to recover its costs over a period. As it is, the house is blighted.
As recently as 28/12/08, Stephen Womack in an article in the Mail on Sunday stated: 'Under industry codes, an insurer must carry on providing cover for problem properties......'.
I am unable to find any such industry codes, and a query to the Mail has evidently fallen on stony ground.
So, if I knew then what I know now, I would not have involved the insurance company. I would have paid for repairs myself, using reliable and dependable tradesmen, probably at less cost then the relatively modest sum of £3500 and not much more than the £1000 excess.
Would this have been deceitful, immoral, unethical, dishonest? Well, in my view, that's something of a moot point and certainly no more questionable than the practices of the insurance company.
The other thing this experience taught me is that one should not engage the services of contractors approved by the insurance company or the loss adjusters -cowboys every manjack.
Am I bitter? Just a little, and annoyed, p****d off -you name it. I have never believed that insurance companies, banks etc. are my friends; this just reinforces the feeling.

mattymoo

http://www.cunninghamlindsey.com/uk/press_detail.asp?press_id=46 (search for continuation)

Also see http://www.abi.org.uk/Display/default.asp?Menu_ID=1140&Menu_All=1,946,1140&Child_ID=405

and http://www.abi.org.uk/Display/File/796/Codes_and_Rules.pdf

There might also be something in this lot re the continuation of cover following a claim - http://213.121.208.42/query.html?qt=subsidence&sp-a2=00011c9e-sp00000000&col=fospub

PS - the last one is the Financial Ombudsmans site.

colbee

Mattymoo,
Many, many thanks for your guidance in this matter. From the information you provided I think I might be able to make a case against the company (fingers crossed) not only for failing to continue cover but also in respect of internal cracks, liability for which was rejected on the grounds of settlement.
It will not be a rapid process but the longest journey starts with the first step.:beer: