Insurance for garden landslip?

CraggyRockFace

We are buying a house where a section of the garden (far away from the house thankfully) drops down quite sharply (almost cliff like - but not quite, maybe a 70 degree angle) about 2-3m to a country lane below - which is not part of our land.

They surveyor warned that as there was no retaining structure in place, if the land slipped into the lane, we might be liable for putting it right - and to check we were covered by our home insurance. I've checked the wording on several policies from well know providers and they all say that they do not cover anything in the grounds of the property unless the building itself is damaged by the landslip.

Is it possible to get insurance for this type of thing?

Or should we just cross our fingers and hope? Part of me worries that having anything to do with any kind of landslip or subsidence insurance - let alone actually claiming on it, might put a black mark against us, and cause future problems with insurance and maybe even selling the house!? Perhaps if it does happen, we should just pay to get it fixed ourselves to avoid being tainted by the "subsidence" word?

Browntoa

landslip on its own is not covered

Alter_ego

You could do a bit of landscaping to avoid problems.

forgotmyname

As above budget into getting a retaining wall built or similar structure to prevent it.

Its if a lane (public road) then the costs to put it right could be massive.

Apodemus

I can see that reinstatement might not be covered for any land slip, but would have thought that any third-party claim elements might be included.

rs65

Apodemus wrote: »

I can see that reinstatement might not be covered for any land slip, but would have thought that any third-party claim elements might be included.

That was what I was thinking.

OP, a landslip might do you a favour and get it down to 45 degrees.

Whether you are liable for a third party claim is a separate matter but property owners liability would at least defend a claim.

huckster

Apodemus wrote: »

I can see that reinstatement might not be covered for any land slip, but would have thought that any third-party claim elements might be included.

Not for an issue they became of before buying the house and taking up Insurance.

As has been said OP needs to negotiate this with the vendor, after finding out costs of work needed. I think they should speak to the vendor to see what they know about this.

Apodemus

I don't doubt that you have more experience on this than I do, but surely there are a wide category of risks that owners might be aware of in advance that are still insurable? In this case, it might be relevant to ask how long the current land form has remained, to see whether there is any heightened risk of collapse. At the very least it might be worth getting an expert to comment, rather than a generalist property surveyor.

I have bank above the road at the edge of my garden, it has been like that for at least 140 years, the trees growing along it vary in the 75-140 year old range. Is there a risk of its collapse? Probably. But since it hasn't done so in the last 140 years there is no reason to presume that it will soon.

huckster

The OP needs to get an opinion from someone who specialises in landscape surveying,

Because the OP has had a survey report detailing this issue they are aware of a pre existing risk. Therefore if a landslip were to happen say after a period of heavy rain, the OP would have to lie or forget they were told about the problem. I don't think most people would wish to do this, just in case they get found out. A potential third party claim could run into many thousands and they could be liable for this.

A survey of the land might say there is no current problem that requires any work. If it does then no issue with third party cover on Insurance.

If the OP has a country property with land it might be worth speaking to NFU Mutual about the scope of their cover. From what i remember, the cover is more wide ranging.

CraggyRockFace

Thanks for the replies, having re-visited the slope is not quite as severe as I remembered maybe more like 45 degrees. As far as I can see it has remained in place for at least the last 30 years since the house was built, so there is no reason to suggest it will move anytime soon. I think I will just cross my fingers and put this down to an over-cautious surveyor.