Subsidence Nightmare

SamSub

It's 5AM and I'm struggling to get any sleep worrying over the subsidence in my home, and the potential for the insurance company not to help out and therefore for to it derail my life, just at the point where my wife is 8 months pregnant with our first child.

Here is the situation: basically, over the past 3 weeks a number of a large cracks have opened up in the walls downstairs. The biggest is about 2m long, and is now just over 4mm wide. There are all the major signs of subsidence such as door frames deforming.

I've decided to contact the insurer as soon as possible (Tuesday); however, what is now going around in my mind is all the things that could go wrong with my claim.

The first is that my policy expires in 10 days time. It is set to auto-renew, but the auto-renewal might be void since it happened after knowledge of a subsidence issue. So, it seems to me that, to be safe, I need to put the claim in as soon as possible.

The second thing that I just remembered which is what is actually keeping me awake tonight with worry is the fact that, about 2 years ago, I called the insurance company up because I had a leak in my bathroom (upstairs) which had damaged the upstairs wall a little. I gave them the details, but decided not to claim in the end. In the end I fixed the issue myself, which involved me replacing the whole bath upstairs.

Obviously, this has absolutely nothing to do with the subsidence, which is clearly something happening under the foundations, not upstairs in the bathroom, but I have this horrible horrible feeling that my insurer will attempt to use this against me.

I'm trying desperately not to think about it and get some sleep, but it keeps coming back with waves of anxiety.

It's a wonder that there aren't songs written about subsidence. It's far more traumatic that broken relationships.

Doozergirl

It's a bit late/early now, but neither of those things have any bearing on their decision. That is what insurers are there for.

Really, it's your mental health that needs addressing as much as any subsidence problem. We create our own reality. Our thoughts are not reality. Just because we think them, it doesn't make them correct.

If you can't sleep through anxiety, you should look at practicing being in the moment - mindfulness. Subsidence may not be very nice but isn't worth losing sleep over. Worry is like bringing the worst of the future in without actually knowing that it will happen.

Far better to enjoy the thought of the insurer being understanding and getting on with helping you. It's far more likely than any other outcome. You can choose certain types of thoughts and you can choose to ignore others.

tacpot12

Your insurer should be ok. You need to stop worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Doozergirl's positive thinking is the right way to calm yourself before you call your insurer.

Have a pen and paper with you when you call, and give them all the relevant information and nothing that is irrelevant, e.g. The previous leak in the bathroom.

shaun_from_Africa

SamSub wrote: »

Obviously, this has absolutely nothing to do with the subsidence, which is clearly something happening under the foundations, not upstairs in the bathroom, but I have this horrible horrible feeling that my insurer will attempt to use this against me.

I wouldn't worry about the previous leak as you did everything by the book and informed the insurance of the problem at the time.

Even though your policy expires in a few days, provided that it was still current when the fault was discovered, the actual date it runs out is irrelevant so again, nothing to worry about there.

Chanes

You will make yourself sick the way you are worrying! A leak you fixed because it was a simple fix is just that and not a sneaky reason the insurance won't help you.

The fact is you are insured and every home insurance policy I have ever seen has cover for subsidence. You are insured for the suspected subsidence (and you don't even know it is subsidence yet)

You will be useless to your family if you make yourself ill fretting about this.

And no, it really is't as traumatic as some relationships!

SamSub

Thank you all for the extremely reassuring and helpful messages. You have helped but my mind at rest.

Mrs_Imp

Chanes wrote: »

The fact is you are insured and every home insurance policy I have ever seen has cover for subsidence. You are insured for the suspected subsidence (and you don't even know it is subsidence yet)

Not a nit pick, but just for information. Our policy specifically excludes subsidence. We have a crack in our back wall (from when the windows were replaced by the previous owner). A structural engineer friend has confirmed that it's not subsidence, but unless we pay for an official letter and full structural report, the insurance company won't accept it. When we can afford it we will, but until then subsidence is excluded. Makes for amusing phone calls at renewal time when they read their super fast spiel about '...and you can confirm that the house is without defects and....oh wait....'

Chanes

Mrs_Imp wrote: »

Not a nit pick, but just for information. Our policy specifically excludes subsidence. We have a crack in our back wall (from when the windows were replaced by the previous owner). A structural engineer friend has confirmed that it's not subsidence, but unless we pay for an official letter and full structural report, the insurance company won't accept it. When we can afford it we will, but until then subsidence is excluded. Makes for amusing phone calls at renewal time when they read their super fast spiel about '...and you can confirm that the house is without defects and....oh wait....'

Every policy I have ever seen has subsidence insurance. I haven't seen yours. Not to nit pick...

But I will consider myself wiser from your experience.

cjj_2

We had to claim for subsidence with our insurers. Went really smoothly and just like any other claim we might have needed to make. I think we were near the end of our yearly policy too. Hope this helps you op.

phil24_7

I have only experienced problems with vehicle insurance, all other insurances I have had/needed/heard of have usually gone reasonably well, though some insurers/underwriters/assessors do love to drag their heals!

Hoploz

So sorry you're losing sleep over this. Please try not to let it rule your life. Whatever the problem with the house, it'll get sorted one way or another. Insurance company will probably be fine to deal with.

Main thing I wanted to say is I hope the light of day has helped you out things back into perspective.

At the end of the day, houses need maintenance, and it's nothing to fear. Even if the work wasn't covered by insurance, it's only money, nobody is in danger, and although it's easy to say that, it's true. Life ebbs and flows, you've got the new baby to think about, just try and relax about this. What will be will be, and if you end up needing to tighten your belts for a while, and put up with some builders for a short time, it's not the end of the world.

Relax!

Best wishes.