House Insurance - Wait to Claim?

MarmiteG1rl

Hi,

After some advice. I may* need to claim on my buildings insurance for subsidence, however my current policy ends next month.

I would like to get the ball rolling asap, however, worried if I contact them now my renewal will go through the roof. Or worse, that I won't be able to renew/switch to another policy. My current policy is fairly comprehensive and I have legal cover.

What do you recommend?

*obviously will need subsidence to be determined. I'm 99% sure that there is and that it is most likely caused by the 5 massive pine trees in next door's (housing assoc) garden that are far too big and less than 2 meters from my house. Been asking them for 5 years to remove...

FutureGirl

If you claim now it shouldn't affect your renewal until next year. This is because your renewal quote is generated 30 days before your renewal date.

If you leave it, they may not cover the full claim (if it is subs) as you know there is an issue, yet not doing anything about it.

forgotmyname

Possibly less trouble to claim now and declare it than having to explain to the new insurer why you failed to declare a claim made to the previous insurer after taking out the new policy.

Possible risk of the old insurer pushing some of the claim into the new one?

FutureGirl

Also if you change insurers, when you claim they will ask you when you noticed the issue. You will say when you noticed it, which will be before the new policy was taken out, so they'll likely send you back to the insurer you're with at the moment anyway.

TSx

The correct thing to do is to make the claim now. Your renewal quote is likely to be affected (whilst they have generated a quote, it is based on your current situation and if this changes they will re-quote) - and you're going to be locked in with your current insurer for a long time if it does turn out to be subsidence (short of specialist insurers).

Subsidence claims are almost always handled under a protocol called the Domestic Subsidence Agreement - see here. What this essentially says is that the date the claim is notified will be treated as the date of loss (so they don't try and work out what date the subsidence started happening). Within the first 8 weeks of a new policy, they will refer you back to the previous insurer (i.e your current one) and the claim will essentially be considered as part of your that policy.

You're running a (small) risk in leaving it more than 8 weeks that they could claim you've allowed it to get worse and as a result not pay some of the claim unless you have a genuine reason for the delay.

What exactly is the damage you've got to your property? It's not a great idea to report a subsidence claim unless you're 100% sure it is subsidence as they're going to have to record it and you'll have to declare it when looking for insurance quotes.

Alter_ego

I don't think it's subsidence if trees cause it. Could be heave but I'm not sure.

TSx

Alter_ego wrote: »

I don't think it's subsidence if trees cause it. Could be heave but I'm not sure.

It is likely to be subsidence - simplified, tree roots suck moisture from the soil which reduces it's volume - this leads to the ground sinking.

Heave is the opposite, an upward movement of the site beneath the foundations and sometimes happens when a tree is removed as there are no longer roots absorbing moisture from the soil.

Doesn't really matter as for all intents and purposes, heave and subsidence are both considered under the subsidence section of a home insurance policy. Landslip generally completes the cover under this section (downward movement of a sloping site)

FOS definitions here

sheramber

If your neighbour's trees are the cause should you not be claiming from them and they claim from thier insurers.

TSx

sheramber wrote: »

If your neighbour's trees are the cause should you not be claiming from them and they claim from thier insurers.

Just because something arises from your property does not make you automatically liable.

There is a potential liability under the tort of nuisance - although to pursue this against the neighbour, at a minimum you'll need an arboriculturists report, a surveyors report of the damage to your property and knowledge of the law involved in nuisance claims. The insurer will have a specialist adjuster for subsidence as it can be a very complex area and it's far better to involve them than try and pursue a claim yourself against the neighbour. They are unlikely to just turn around and pay everything.

The fact the OP has been telling the neighbours about the issues for five years should help with proving the foreseeability of the damage - hopefully this was in writing so they can provide it as evidence.

Some interesting information here - generally a housing association will be deemed to have more knowledge of the potential damage that their vegetation can cause and should have plans in place to mitigate that risk.

eddddy

If you're unsure whether it is subsidence, it might be worth paying a surveyor or structural engineer to inspect and give you their opinion.

If you report it to your insurer and it turns out not to be subsidence - you will have a "subsidence report" on your home insurance history, and if they had sent out a surveyor to investigate, the surveyor's fee may be treated as a claim on your policy.