Subsidence excess......is there an expiry date on home insurnace policy

wdbamber

Hi all, the insurance companies i have contacted have requested further infomation so i will be sending them what i have.

One has asked for the value of works undertaken by the owners claim for fixing drains and redecoration, but the owner is not willing to pass on information to us, although we have the scope of works.

If i send this information, the scope, to the insurnace companies i have requested a quote from am i setting my self up for an increased quote? or will it show the likely costs to the insurnace company for potential claims should further movement occur? how ever unlikely.

Thanks

TB

wdbamber

One further question,

if the current owner decides to take the propoerty off the market, renovates and corrects issues then puts back on the market, would the records of the claim for movement due to drians have to be declared by the seller ?? or would they be able to "cover over the issue"?

i guess the same goes for if i buy the house and in the furture wish to sell, would the previous sellers claim have to be declared?

Thanks in advance

kingstreet

You'll have to answer honestly whatever question is put to you. If you are asked "has the property ever suffered from XXX?" You're bound to answer that question.

My suggestion about contacting a decent broker was to give you a flavour of your shopping around options in future and how a future purchaser might fare when buying from you. Did you approach a proper broker, or are you touting it around the cherry-pickers on the comparison sites?

wdbamber

As time allowed today i used the comparason web sites for an idea.

I'm phoning around some proper brokers tonight tomorrow.

TB

G_M

Typically insurance application forms ask either
"Is there any history/evidence of subsidence" "Has the building ever suffered from subsidence?" OR
"Is there any history/evidence of movement" "Has the building ever suffered from movement?"

Sounds like the wording on your survey(s) could be critical.

wdbamber

Hi all, i have recieved another insurnace quote annual premium £500.00 with 250 standard excess. But subsidence excess is £5000.

I have requested warrenties for the works undertaken by the current owners insurance company to drains and redecoration to send on to insurnace company assist in hopefully reducing the excess.

This seems alittle high, our structural report which sent them has confirmed that underpinning would not be rrequired and it is unlikely that any future movement will occur.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

TB

wdbamber

Will the £5000 excess stay on the policy forever or reduce over time with no claim?

Thanks

TB

eddddy

I have a house with a £5000 subsidence excess for similar reasons to yours. It's over 10 years since the subsidence claim, and the insurance company will not reduce the excess.

As for not mentioning to insurers about previous subsidence related claims... the previous owners of our house did exactly that.

Our surveyor saw the subsidence repairs. Their insurers found out and instantly cancelled all their buildings and contents cover. So they found themselves urgently needing buildings insurance for a house with subsidence history, and having to admit that they had just had a policy cancelled for non-disclosure. Not a good place to be!

wdbamber

Thanks for all your help on the Insurnace policy for the house that has suffered movement due to drains and letting water to ground.

I now have several insurance companies willing to quote on the House, with pretty good quotes after i provided them all with the structural report i had undertaken by an engineer.

I sent the same report and now the Abbey/ Santander has refused to complete the loan/ mortgage on this property, after originally agreeing inprincple to lend to us.

We have satisfied all the mortgage conditions set out.

Is it normal to be able to get house insurnce but get refused a mortgage loan based on the same info?

What are our options? the house has now been fully repaired and extensive redecoration completed but we are worried that if we try another lender it will delay us further and the current owners will re-market the property! for alot more now.

Help please!:mad::(

sillybing

Dear Wdbamber,
I read your posts with interest and hope you have managed to find a way through these problems. My wife and I are currently in a similar situation, where the buyer has confirmed existence of history of subsidence (5 years ago, not too serious c.£5k claim - no underpinning - fully repaired and certificated), but only thought to mention it once we'd made offer, completed expensive surveys & incurred legal costs. We still very much like the property although do slightly resent having got so committed without being aware of all the facts. Our problem now is that we have not been able to secure buildings insurance at all other than via incumbent insurer (towergate) and with a £5k subsidence excess which breaches the £1k max in the condition of our mortgage offer.
All the while the estate agent (and to some extent vendors) are subjecting us to tremendous pressure to exchange or pull the papers and remarket.
My own view on your situation (and ours) is that if you are dealing with a vendor who genuinely doesn't seem phased about the likelihood of needing to disclose the history to other future buyers (and same problems arising) you are probably going to end up paying too much for the property. Don't forget that the agents are trying to get the deal done, so they may be adding pressure into the mix, when in fact vendors will be more accommodating in allowing to sort through these issues (and also perhaps minor renegotiation on price).
I would be grateful if you could let me know which brokers you contacted to obtain quotes (as this is now our next step).
Many thanks