Brick wall leaning over - Insurance claim?

otherwayup

Hi, I have a bog standard 40yr old 6m by 2m, 9" brick wall that is gradually (15yrs) falling over (onto my own land).

I'm quoted £2,200 to remove, replace footings and rebuild.

It is probably due to either the silver birch 6m away that has grown over the years, insufficient footings in the first place or water dripping off poor guttering above

- Can I claim on my buildings insurance if it is just gradually falling over?

- Will it go down a subsidence on my property and cause trouble in the future when I insure or sell my house?

Thanks.

maninthestreet

You will need to check with your insurer to know for sure if you are covered for this.

Qwiksilver

Contacting your insurer for clarification may not be the best move in my opinion as even the enquiry may be counted as a claim. There was an article about it on watchdog around 2 weeks ago and it has been mentioned on these forums a number of times. Best thing to do is check your policy documents and read them first.

27col

My house insurance policy covers boundary walls but not fences. But then, if my front wall fell down I would rebuild it myself. I do love to do a bit of bricklaying.

ormus

even if they do cover such an item, they will say its due to subsidence.
therefore you pay the excess, typically the first 1000 quid.

and can you imagine next yrs premium?
plus you will have to state on any future property sale contract that a claim for subsidence has been made.
i wonder what any potential buyer will think about that?


in other words, dont bother even phoning them.

phill99

I do a lot of work for insurance companies. I'm not convinced that this is an insured claim. Insurance is their to cover unexpected incidents such as fire, flood, wind damage etc.

You have admitted that it is likely to be something that you could have foreseen ie tree roots or faulty guttering, both of which you have done nothing about. Additionally, inurance companioes are not in business to cover bad workmanship. If that was the case, nothing would be built properly as we would expect the insurance company to pick up the tab at a later date.

otherwayup

phill99 wrote: »

I do a lot of work for insurance companies. I'm not convinced that this is an insured claim. Insurance is their to cover unexpected incidents such as fire, flood, wind damage etc.

You have admitted that it is likely to be something that you could have foreseen ie tree roots or faulty guttering, both of which you have done nothing about. Additionally, inurance companioes are not in business to cover bad workmanship. If that was the case, nothing would be built properly as we would expect the insurance company to pick up the tab at a later date.

I had assumed all of the above. If the second quote comes in at the same level, I think I shall just have to invest in one of those brickytools and get busy. That'll teach me (if only).

Cheers.