Flooding in cellar?

Doozergirl

Frightening that you have years of underwriting experience and don't understand what cellars are for.

Davesnave

paddyandstumpy wrote: »

I have nearly a decade as a Property Underwriter, I'm comfortable I know what I am talking about.

Yes it's an expense, I'm not questioning or challenging that; I'm suggesting that not disclosing a flooding at the property could give the insurer a reason to avoid cover, leaving the OP uninsured.

I'm not questioning your experience as an underwriter, but I'm comfortable with my experience of ground water and possible ingress into cellars, which is normal.

It's also normal for cellars to be un-tanked and probably normal for most insured persons not to mention puddling on their cellar floors.

I do understand that non-disclosure "could" result in the rejection of a claim, but I'm not certain how that would come about if no claim were ever made IRO goods in the cellar.

aneary

My parents cellar floods regularly which now isn't an issue it was only an issue when the boiler was in there. The old boiler was fine the new one with more electric bits not so good.

New boiler and in a different location and the cellar has a pump for when it floods they don't seem to have any issues, nothing is stored in there.

paddyandstumpy

Doozergirl wrote: »

Frightening that you have years of underwriting experience and don't understand what cellars are for.

Doozergirl wrote: »

This being the problem, you clearly don't understand houses. At all.

There is absolutely no need for a cellar to be damp proofed. In fact, that causes a potentially much larger headache for insurers when people take cellars for granted. Old houses are designed to breath and cellars allowed to be wet.

A cellar flooding does not make the house above ground a flood risk. I won't hold my breath for the 'help, my house flooded because I didn't tank my cellar' thread.

Post above also shows that insurance isn't a problem even through comparison sites. Just answering 'yes' to the property flooding though is ridiculous when no claim ever need be made for a flooded cellar, clearly different above ground. Even then, people do get cover by mainstream insurers after floods affecting their living space. Our previous house flooded a few years before we purchased it and there was no problem - again, through a comparison site, several times.

Your advice is scaremongering. Incorrect on both counts - mainstream insurers and how to treat cellars.

I'm not scaremongering; if you've managed to get cover for a previously flooded property, good for you. I've literally just input my own home details into confused, amended flood history to yes and most of the market dropped out: (56 refused a quote when the flood question was yes, 13 refused a quote when the flood answer was no).

Davesnave

aneary wrote: »

My parents cellar floods regularly which now isn't an issue it was only an issue when the boiler was in there. The old boiler was fine the new one with more electric bits not so good.

New boiler and in a different location and the cellar has a pump for when it floods they don't seem to have any issues, nothing is stored in there.

Which reminds me...

Where I worked, the local authority-owned boiler house began to receive water through cracks in the floor, which wasn't surprising given its age and depth below ground.

Rather than repair the floor or do other costly work, a sump was created and a Hippo type automatic pump installed. Solved the problem at a stroke....apart from the occasional frog that got in there!

Any householder could do similarly, rather than tank.

catshark88

I've just spent 2 weeks getting a buildings insurance quote for a house in an area where other house's cellars had flooded (the one in the house I'm interested in is filled in).

The insurers absolutely ARE interested in basements flooding. Lie by omission at your peril. There is no point getting insurance cover that can be wheedled out of, if you need it.

Davesnave

catshark88 wrote: »

I've just spent 2 weeks getting a buildings insurance quote for a house in an area where other house's cellars had flooded (the one in the house I'm interested in is filled in).

The insurers absolutely ARE interested in basements flooding. Lie by omission at your peril. There is no point getting insurance cover that can be wheedled out of, if you need it.

Of course insurers are interested in anything which might increase the perceived risk inherent in a property, but how did the insurers know that the other houses' basements had flooded?

I would suggest it was probably because people made claims as a result of a damage situation. In that case, it's quite right for the insurers to allow for the risk of a repeat performance.

There's a large difference between a flood causing damage and loss of possessions and puddle in a damp basement.

But in a case where there's been no claim, and the 'problem' is likely to be a few centimetres of water, it would be a foolish person who made this into a drama and started wailing to their insurers about it.

That's why I said getting a quote or two was a good idea, because one doesn't know what the track record of the property or the neighbours' is until quotes are obtained.

That's also why the OP is being sensible and asking for more information from the vendors.

anonmum

Thanks to all for your input on my question.

I wasn't that concerned until I did a new insurance price comparison (I had done a insurance quote prior to finding out about the cellar problem) and the price for insurance had doubled! As has been stated the question asked on the insurance quote site was not specific - just a 'Has the house ever flooded?' but since it isn't specific - the answer has to be yes.

Surveyor in tomorrow and will await on answers from enquiries, and if all okay then will do some more shopping around for insurance!

Best wishes all and thanks again! :-)

anonmum x

anonmum

catshark88 wrote: »

I've just spent 2 weeks getting a buildings insurance quote for a house in an area where other house's cellars had flooded (the one in the house I'm interested in is filled in).

The insurers absolutely ARE interested in basements flooding. Lie by omission at your peril. There is no point getting insurance cover that can be wheedled out of, if you need it.

hi, can I be cheeky and ask who you eventually went to? Have done three main comparison sites and they all just have a general 'house flood' question - thinking may need someone who is less generalised on question!
Thanks in advance,

anonmum