Do all insurers class settlement as subsidence?

kelleth

Hi - I am a FTB and have had a RICS done on a small 2 bed middle terrace built circa 1880. It reads pretty well for a house of that age and the only general remarks on the valuation were:

"The property has undergone a degree of structural movement, however this is considered to be longstanding in nature and the risk of further movement taking place is acceptable"

I contacted the surveyor to ask his opinion of the cause of the movement and he said settlement.

Will insurers just see that the property had structural movement - regardless of cause - and refuse to cover me/incur high premiums? I have contacted LV who said they wouldn't cover me for subsidence - even though this isn't what has happened.

I am waiting to see who the vendors are insured with to see if their insurance can be extended, but can anyone recommend companies who would be more accomodating to settlement?

cattie

What you never ever do with any insurance company is mention the S word, meaning subsidence, unless the property has a past history of it that resulted in an insurance claim. Insurance companies tend to run a mile from properties with a history of subsidence.

If there has never been any kind of insurance claim due to movement on this property to the best of your knowledge, then you don't mention it to insurers.

If there has been an insurance claim in the past then there is a code of honour amongst insurers where they agree to continue to insure a property that has had a claim, even when property is sold to a new owner.

This means of course that your premiums may be a bit higher than a house that has never had a problem & that you cannot shop around for cheaper quotes from alternative companies as you need to stay with the original insurer of the building.

kelleth

Thanks Cattie, as far as I know there has never been a claim and the vendor has never declared anything about movement on their insurance.

I have an appointment with my whole of market mortgage broker next week who is going to look at insurance deals for me so hopefully she will be able to navigate through the process better than I could on my own.

DaftyDuck

Worth noting that your (sensible) surveyor has not, at any point, mentioned subsidence. You will be able to answer questions put by most insurers honestly, and not declare subsidence.

The surveyor does not regard this as a current problem, and I don't think you should either, other evidence lacking. I haven't bought a house of that age without there being some report of, or evidence for, settlement. I have never had subsidence, or anything I believe could be termed subsidence... yet!

kelleth

Thanks Dafty - I agree that I have been lucky in the surveyor that I was given.

rpc

kelleth wrote: »

Thanks Dafty - I agree that I have been lucky in the surveyor that I was given.

It's unlikely to be luck - the two are normally quite different. Any surveyor who got the two confused would, in most cases, be making a lot of work for his PI insurer...

maninthestreet

Settlement is not unusual for a house built in 1880.

BitterAndTwisted

I'd be astounded if a one hundred and thirty year old property hadn't had any movement at all in that time.

There are going to be a fair few homeowners claiming on their insurance for heave (opposite of subsidence) ere long. Ground gets wet and expands, buildings heave. Ground dries out and contracts, buildings subside. Clay is a swine for doing this and the whole of London is built on it but people still live there and the buildings are still standing and still insurable.

rpc

maninthestreet wrote: »

Settlement is not unusual for a house built in 1880.

It isn't unusual for a house built in 1980!

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Clay is a swine for doing this and the whole of London is built on it but people still live there and the buildings are still standing and still insurable.

Insurable for now. Once the current damage is fixed, you can imagine insurers deciding that the whole south of England has a history of flooding and ground movement.

kelleth

Thanks everyone for your replies - you have set my mind at rest. I think it's a gem of house.