Insurance claim and subsidence

jhe

fredy5 wrote: »

Decided to have subsidence underpinning done at our own expence (approx 2000) and not going thru ins as they can drag on things like this for years, plus my ordinary premium will presumably rocket.

Insurance, why not nationalise it?

my house suffered slight subsidence around 15years ago.
i went through insurance it was sorted promptly, building inspectors from local council were also involved.so there is a record of it now.
my insurance has been a lot higher since.

Ionkontrol

fredy5 wrote: »

Insurance, why not nationalise it?

It's not insurance, it is a loan.

cyclonebri1

TimBuckTeeth wrote: »

You will still have to declare it to your insurance company or your insurance will be invalidated.

Not at this stage he won't, but you are correct, at the next renewal the question will be asked;

Has your home ever been subject to subsidence? (it won't say has there been a subsidence claim which would have been a get out):(:(:(

ANGLICANPAT

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Not at this stage he won't, but you are correct, at the next renewal the question will be asked;

Has your home ever been subject to subsidence? (it won't say has there been a subsidence claim which would have been a get out):(:(:(

Does it not say somewhere in insurance policies that if there is any change that you are aware of which would affect the policy, then you must notify them immediately?

keystone

A slight amount of settlement is quite a different ketle of fish from subsidence. Don't confuse one with the other.

Cheers

cyclonebri1

fredy5 wrote: »

I see, thanks all.

I will get my own surveyor then, and if he says it is subsidence, then I will call the insurance company, otherwise I will keep quiet.

Cheers.

Taking it to the nth degree the earlier poster was probably right about disclosure but this is a 172 year old property, unless it was built on granite it will have moved in some direction, and they don't always sink.

If I had repaired my property, at my expense, for what may or may not have been subsidence, then without doubt I would not disclose it.

That's not advice, it's what I would do.

Fredy, did the surveyor say it was subsidence or not bearing in mind the above comment and the fact that you are now going it alone??

I have to comment and say, it must be a very small area affected and very easily accessed, you get nothing re underpinning for £2K, nothing.

Avoid any paperwork with the word subsidence on it is my view, I still don't think you have it.

Gloomendoom

I had a similar problem some ten or twelve years ago when a few small cracks appeared in a wall. My ex-wife rang the insurance company straight away and mentioned the 'S' word. The insurance company started a "Subsidence File", even sending us a fancy ring binder so entitled, so that we could keep all the relevant docs together.

In the end, the conclusion was that the cracks were due to seasonal movement, not subsidence, and no repairs, apart from redecoration, were necessary.

However, the house now seems to be marked with a big red "S" on whatever database the insurance companies use. My premiums trebled and I've not been able to switch insurers since.

As other posters have said, if you are not 100% sure that it is subsidence, then don't even dream of mentioning it to your insurance company.

cyclonebri1

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I had a similar problem some ten or twelve years ago when a few small cracks appeared in a wall. My ex-wife rang the insurance company straight away and mentioned the 'S' word. The insurance company started a "Subsidence File", even sending us a fancy ring binder so entitled, so that we could keep all the relevant docs together.

In the end, the conclusion was that the cracks were due to seasonal movement, not subsidence, and no repairs, apart from redecoration, were necessary.

However, the house now seems to be marked with a big red "S" on whatever database the insurance companies use. My premiums trebled and I've not been able to switch insurers since.

As other posters have said, if you are not 100% sure that it is subsidence, then don't even dream of mentioning it to your insurance company.

As per post #4

Tell them "little";)

cyclonebri1

Why don't insurers accept "natural settlement" in the same way as builders would have customers accept it?

Oh no, another wormcan opened:o:o:o