Possible subsidence & insurance

Brixton_beekeeper

My house has developed cracks throughout one side. A structural engineer has confirmed that these are caused by subsidence. The next step is to have a ground investigation performed where trial pits are dug around the house to test tree roots and soil make-up to determine whether underpinning is necessary.

I have told my insurance company that there is cracking, and that there is potential subsidence, but I have not made any claim yet.

My question is this: does anyone have advice on whether it would be better to pay for the ground investigation myself, and only make a claim if underpinning is required? My thinking is that most houses with subsidence don't require underpinning. If I make a claim now, it could have a significant impact on future premiums as well as making it difficult to move insurers. It could have a significant impact on the value of my house as well.

If the ground investigation shows that underpinning is not required, then the necessary work will be cosmetic and certainly not worth claiming for.

Ganga

Brixton_beekeeper wrote: »

My house has developed cracks throughout one side. A structural engineer has confirmed that these are caused by subsidence. The next step is to have a ground investigation performed where trial pits are dug around the house to test tree roots and soil make-up to determine whether underpinning is necessary.

I have told my insurance company that there is cracking, and that there is potential subsidence, but I have not made any claim yet.

My question is this: does anyone have advice on whether it would be better to pay for the ground investigation myself, and only make a claim if underpinning is required? My thinking is that most houses with subsidence don't require underpinning. If I make a claim now, it could have a significant impact on future premiums as well as making it difficult to move insurers. It could have a significant impact on the value of my house as well.

If the ground investigation shows that underpinning is not required, then the necessary work will be cosmetic and certainly not worth claiming for.

Well as you have told the insurance company that you have subsidence is it not a bit late to " keep it from them ":(

Zorillo

Your thinking is flawed. Either it is subsidence in which case it's already occurred regardless of whether or not you claim, or it isn't subsidence in which case you might as well use the insurance company's money to find out.

Brixton_beekeeper

I don't think that makes sense. The issue is whether to claim or not - not whether there is subsidence or not. That is currently unknown. If underpinning is needed, then I will certainly make a claim, but if it isn't then it probably isn't worth it.

dunstonh

What grading did the structural engineer give the movement? The grading system is recognised by insurers.

We had some movement classified as grade 2 (cosmetic) and the recommendation from the surveyor was to use helifix ties resin bonded and lime mortar (the latter was due to some previous owner mid 1970 repairs using concrete mortar which was neither in keeping with the building and it was those that had opened up again due to the drought conditions this year). Came to £1542. It didnt need any ground investigation as it was just soil condition due to it being a drought year. There is an increase in cracks this year across the country due to drought. It doesnt mean you need the works done.

Brixton_beekeeper

Hi dunstonh

Thank you, that's really useful. He didn't give a grading but I see that the grades are basically defined by the width of the crack. On that basis, all the cracks are grade 2, except for one which strays very slightly into grade 3. All the cracks did - as you say - appear over the long hot summer.

Cheers

Zorillo

Brixton_beekeeper wrote: »

I don't think that makes sense. The issue is whether to claim or not - not whether there is subsidence or not. That is currently unknown. If underpinning is needed, then I will certainly make a claim, but if it isn't then it probably isn't worth it.

It does make sense. Most cracking is not subsidence, most subsidence is expensive to resolve. Your insurance company or any other you want to insure for subsidence in the future will need to be told the subsidence has occurred regardless of whether you claim or not.

It is too late to avoid the effect the subsidence will have on your future premiums and house value, because the subsidence has already occurred. So you'd be better if having it repaired properly than filling in the cracks and hoping not to have to disclose it in the future, in my opinion.

TheInsideGuy

Brixton_beekeeper wrote: »

My house has developed cracks throughout one side. A structural engineer has confirmed that these are caused by subsidence. The next step is to have a ground investigation performed where trial pits are dug around the house to test tree roots and soil make-up to determine whether underpinning is necessary.

I have told my insurance company that there is cracking, and that there is potential subsidence, but I have not made any claim yet.

My question is this: does anyone have advice on whether it would be better to pay for the ground investigation myself, and only make a claim if underpinning is required? My thinking is that most houses with subsidence don't require underpinning. If I make a claim now, it could have a significant impact on future premiums as well as making it difficult to move insurers. It could have a significant impact on the value of my house as well.

If the ground investigation shows that underpinning is not required, then the necessary work will be cosmetic and certainly not worth claiming for.

the issue you have here is the fact that you don't know if its subsidence or not. insurers will always go with "worst case scenario" which would always mean you are covered. your going to have to disclose this if you move insurers at renewal. If you don't and your new insurer finds out during a claim they would have grounds to avoid the policy due to potential subsidence - be careful with this one. can be a very sticky situation