How quickly should the insurer respond? Subsidence worry

Tustastic

Have never posted a thread in this area before and indeed the last time I made an insurance claim was in the late 1970s. I called Norwich Union on Monday to say that my neighbour upstairs (I live in a block of 4 flats) told me she had noticed cracks on her interior walls, informed her insurers who had done a survey and that they are now querying subsidence and want to drill some kind of test hole outside the property. One would be in my garden and obviously I need to give permission. The possible culprit is the huge lebanon cedar tree in the garden of the other ground floor flat in the block. It has a preservation order on it and was last pruned about 3 years ago.
NU told me someone would call me back within 24-48 hours but no-one did. I called today and was given a claim number and a phone number for a personal claims manager and told they would call within 3-5 working days. When I queried the length of time, as this seems a serious claim and I was given an earlier response time when I first called, I was told I could call the personal claims manager after one working day.
Is this a normal reaction to a possible subsidence claim? I plan to call the claims manager this afternoon when they will have received the message about my property.
What else should I do to get them to react quickly? Any help and advice would be most gratefully received.
Sorry for the long post but I keyboard as easily as I talk.

Astaroth

Whilst subsidence claims are typically the largest cost in most home insurance they very rarely an emergency.

If a storm blows the roof off your house you are going to be getting significant additional damage on an hourly basis to things that weren't initially damaged by the storm.

Subsidence however tends to be a slow/ long term action and the delay of a few days, weeks or even months is unlikely to cause any significant changes in the cost of the claim

Tustastic

Thanks for your comments about the urgency of subsidence Astaroth,:) they reinforce what was said to me when I finally got through to the subsidy claims people.
I still feel that the insurers should have got back to me within their own target time; that would have inspired confidence.

Astaroth

Absolutely agree, one of the major failings of insurers and call centres in general is setting peoples expectations correctly. Most people wouldnt mind something non-urgent done in a few days if that is what they are told up front what annoys people is being told it will be done that day and it isnt.

This is one thing that easyjet were exceptionally good at... you got exactly what they told you would, it wasnt much but it met expectations

Tight_Git_3

It will take months to sort out.......
I reported cracks to Direct Line in March, surveyors came in April and dug a couple of test holes.
Work finally began in November and the decorating is still to be finished in the next week.
This wasn't even a true subsudance claim either, as a leaking sewer pipe had washed away a small bit of the clay subsoil near the foundations. Pipe fixed problem sorted, so only helibars, pointing and plastering needed doing.
Beware of the excess. Water damage £50 - Subsidance £1000 !!!!!!

Tustastic

Tight_Git wrote:

It will take months to sort out.......
I reported cracks to Direct Line in March, surveyors came in April and dug a couple of test holes.
Work finally began in November and the decorating is still to be finished in the next week.
This wasn't even a true subsudance claim either, as a leaking sewer pipe had washed away a small bit of the clay subsoil near the foundations. Pipe fixed problem sorted, so only helibars, pointing and plastering needed doing.
Beware of the excess. Water damage £50 - Subsidance £1000 !!!!!!

Really helpful to hear about your experience TG. I have an excess of £1K for subsidence which was pointed out to me when I took out the policy so fair enough.
I'll go away now to find out what a helibar is.:)

Mrs_pbradley936

I put this on another thread, it might reassure you.

I was just like you are now a couple of years ago. Our house is now 10 years old and so still under the NHBC warranty. It all started when the neighbours opposite had their garden wall collapse on a car and there was an insurance claim. We had men digging holes in the garden, surveyors, structural engineers, insurance assessors you name it they turned up. Some from the NHBC others from Norwich Union and others still from Cunningham and Lindsey no idea who they were but I had got used to picking up the phone and saying “Yes of course you can come and look at my house, you need access to the garden too? Yes that will be fine.” They came back every so many months to take measurements. What did they do? Nothing! Said it was all due to the long hot summer we had enjoyed in I think 2003 and that trees were looking for moisture and – well to be honest it all went over my head but now we must not let any trees or bushes within so far of the house get above about six feet tall.

Tustastic

pbradley936 wrote:

Said it was all due to the long hot summer we had enjoyed in I think 2003 and that trees were looking for moisture and – well to be honest it all went over my head but now we must not let any trees or bushes within so far of the house get above about six feet tall.

Thanks for this. I suspect the 'elephant in the room' is the huge lebanon cedar tree right next to the block, in my neighbours' garden. It is about 350 years old and much taller than the property. It was pruned three years ago but is still massive. What with the last hot summer and being in a hosepipe ban area, that tree must be seriously thirsty!:eek:

Mrs_pbradley936

If the tree has a preservation order on it what can anyone do? If this is the problem and you have the cracks mended won't they keep coming back unless the tree is removed? Being a new house we did not have old mature trees so no restrictions on us cutting them back. I think you have to have permission if the diameter of the trunk is more than 10 cm or 4 inches. Then again what if the neighbour with the tree quite likes it and will not keep it cut? We are in a detached house so did not have that problem.

Tustastic

The tree does have a preservation order on it. Cutting it down is not the easy option anyway, even if the Council and the owner of the garden agreed, because the roots which are left over then die and shrink and....bring more problems.
I think we need the advice of a tree specialist.

Mrs_pbradley936

Tustastic wrote:

I think we need the advice of a tree specialist.

Yes I think you do, but I would think the insurance people will sort it out from here.