Subsidence - Builder vs Insurer?

donal_f

huckster wrote: »

I think this is probably correct. OP should get some legal advice.

antrobus wrote: »

OP should definitely get some legal advice.

Thanks - I guess I need to first await the Engineer's report and get the insurer to confirm in writing they're rejecting my claim. Then I can seek legal advice.

I would appreciate any recommendations for legal advice? The only solicitors I've used has been for conveyancing and it has generally been a mixed experience!

losgiganteskid

huckster wrote: »

If they have legal cover under their Home Insurance, they should check whether this would meet the cost of any legal action.

Highly unlikely i'm afraid - under the Legal Expenses cover of most home insurance policies (always supposing the OP purchased the cover) there is an exclusion often worded more or less as follows - >

Residential > what is not covered. 1) bla bla bla .....
2) bla bla bla.......
3) Anything to do with building, converting, extending,altering,renovating or demolishing your home"

donal_f

As luck would have it, my home insurance is up in early May and I was sent a renewal quote yesterday. My insurance is going from £288 to £810!

In addition to this subsidence claim, we had a small leak which is also pending with our insurer. I've just spent a whilie going through Confused.com, CompareTheMarket and GoCompare. Very few insurers are even coming back with quotes - under ten on all the sites! Presumably this is because of the subsidence? And I've called a few of the cheaper ones, but they're either just brokers who want to go and shop around for me, or they want me to upgrade my alarm! So, the best reputable one seems to be around £700!

My instinct is to not bother with Buildings & Contents insurance until all this is sorted out? I'm already likely to have to foot a big subsidence remediation bill and the value of my house has been impacted. Doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to pay 200% more for insurance in addition? I'm comfortable taking the risk of other issues (in the 19 years I've owned my house or flat, I've never previously made a buildings & contents claim!).

Sorry to ask for further advice, but is there any reason related to the above subsidence that would mean its advisable to continue to have buildings cover?

losgiganteskid

Dependant upon whether or not you have a mortgage on the property

If you don't, then insurance for both buildings and contents is entirely at your choice - if you have a mortgage the b/s will insist you have adequate buildings protection (to safeguard their interest)

rs65

donal_f wrote: »

?

We live in a house we purchased as a new build from a large, national building firm in 2003.

Is your house part of a development, are there same style houses nearby, are they showing cracks?

If they allege it is a foundation design issue, I would expect others to be affected as ground conditions will be largely similar. If they allege its a foundation workmanship issue then that of course could be isolated.

Be interesting to see what the report says.

donal_f

rs65 wrote: »

Is your house part of a development, are there same style houses nearby, are they showing cracks?

If they allege it is a foundation design issue, I would expect others to be affected as ground conditions will be largely similar. If they allege its a foundation workmanship issue then that of course could be isolated.

Yes - its part of a development. I have checked all the houses on our row (seven of them) and we are the only one where I can see subsidence. As you say, the report will be interesting?

EdGasket

donal_f wrote: »

My instinct is to not bother with Buildings & Contents insurance until all this is sorted out?

So what woulld happen if your house burnt down? You still need to cover all other 'perils'. When my insurance rocketed after a subsidence claim, I got insurance for everything else excluding subsidence for a sensible price.

huckster

losgiganteskid wrote: »

Dependant upon whether or not you have a mortgage on the property

If you don't, then insurance for both buildings and contents is entirely at your choice - if you have a mortgage the b/s will insist you have adequate buildings protection (to safeguard their interest)

rs65 wrote: »

Is your house part of a development, are there same style houses nearby, are they showing cracks?

If they allege it is a foundation design issue, I would expect others to be affected as ground conditions will be largely similar. If they allege its a foundation workmanship issue then that of course could be isolated.

Be interesting to see what the report says.

donal_f wrote: »

As luck would have it, my home insurance is up in early May and I was sent a renewal quote yesterday. My insurance is going from £288 to £810!

In addition to this subsidence claim, we had a small leak which is also pending with our insurer. I've just spent a whilie going through Confused.com, CompareTheMarket and GoCompare. Very few insurers are even coming back with quotes - under ten on all the sites! Presumably this is because of the subsidence? And I've called a few of the cheaper ones, but they're either just brokers who want to go and shop around for me, or they want me to upgrade my alarm! So, the best reputable one seems to be around £700!

My instinct is to not bother with Buildings & Contents insurance until all this is sorted out? I'm already likely to have to foot a big subsidence remediation bill and the value of my house has been impacted. Doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to pay 200% more for insurance in addition? I'm comfortable taking the risk of other issues (in the 19 years I've owned my house or flat, I've never previously made a buildings & contents claim!).

Sorry to ask for further advice, but is there any reason related to the above subsidence that would mean its advisable to continue to have buildings cover?

Don't move from current Insurers while you still have this ongoing. A new Insurers won't be interested anyway, once you tell them what is happening. With a live subsidence claim, i suspect you will find that no new Insurers will take you on for Buildings or Contents.

You should see what ways you can reduce Insurance costs. Increase voluntary excess on the policy. Perhaps see if another Insurers will quote you for Contents Insurance, although i am sceptical.

This advice may be a bit late now. But i have seen the same mistake many times now. People see cracks in their homes and phone their Insurers. They then have a subsidence claim on an Insurers record against the house. Often it turns out that they could have resolved the issue without getting Insurers involved. For anyone reading this, best advice when seeing cracks is to get an experienced builder in first. Then if necessary get a surveyor/structural engineer to do a report. You will have an Insurance excess of probably £1000 anyway. If the necessary work needs the help of Insurance, then get them involved. But once you have a subsidence issue noted, it affects the Insurance costs for years and might well affect a houses market value.

EdGasket

huckster wrote: »

But once you have a subsidence issue noted, it affects the Insurance costs for years and might well affect a houses market value.

Indeed; almost impossible to get insurance which includes subsidence (even when the subsidence has been repaired) and difficult to sell the house on because the new owners will also not be able to insure it.

In addition your neighbours should declare when insuring/selling their house that a property in the area has suffered subsidence making difficulties for them also. What a great world we live in !

flyonthewall01

I would suggest strongly you get your own level and distortion survey done and then monitor the property. This will cost around a grand and should be covered by insurers as part of the claim. I know this from bitter experience and wish I had this done four yeas ago when I reported a claim for subsidence, the loss adjusters will try any argument to get out/minimise the claim. This way you can prove/disprove is subsidence is ongoing or stopped - without it proving your case for piling/underpinning may be difficult. Best of Luck!