House insurance and SUBSIDENCE

pippa0_2

Hello,

I think we may have subsidense. We live mid ter in a 100+ yr old house. In the side passage there are some cracks running several feet. It has been like that since we moved in 5 yrs ago and was not picked up on the standard mortgage report.

I have just stripped some wall paper off a bedroom and found an alarming crack that is 3-4 mm wide and apears to go straight through the bricks to the outside wall and then up the division of the 2 terrace houses to the roofline where it is less vissible than inside the bedroom.

My worry is that:
a) I stated on the insurance form that there was no history or sign of subsidence in the house (genuinely, but these cracks must have happened over some time)
b) What if they won't pay and also black list the house as needing repairs?
c) We have had minor alterations done by a friend (i.e. no paperwork tho this wasn't near the affected area)
d) Should a mortagage inspection pick up on subsidence?

Should I ask a structural eng / surveyer before I contact the ins company?

What happens if they do agree. Do we move out?? Do they pay for accommodation??

Thanks.

huckster

First thing to do, is to get a couple of building firms to inspect the cracks and to offer their opinion.

Once you have the opinions, if they say it is subsidence, then you will need to find out from your Insurers what the process is. You might have to pay for a structural engineers report.

Don't worry about the declaration information you gave when you took out the policy. You have a mortgage valuation report by a surveyor that does not mention subsidence and as an ordinary member of the public, you would not have realised anything about the cracks. It would be best not to mention that you have known about any cracks for 5 years, as the Insurers are bound to tell you that you should have done something when you first noticed them and they will refuse any claim.

It may be that the cracks have nothing to do with subsidence or that it would be better to arrange any repairs yourself. Therefore getting a few experienced builders to check the cracks first would be the best course of action.