Fighting a subsidence claim - advice please

EdGasketTheSecond

When I made a subsidence claim the insurer at first tried to say it was inadequate foundations but at that time it was not an exclusion so after quoting cases from the insurance ombudsman to them, they agreed to proceed with the claim.

Mine was heave on clay soil, trees nearby. They underpinned the affected foundations with 17 tons of concrete before commencing re-decorating. Sounds like thats what you need done too.


BTW since the work was done, I have not been able to obtain insurance for subsidence from anyone and only from the original insurer at a grossly inflated price even though supposedly fixed to building regs. by their appointed builders. be warned. Also you won't be able to sell your house with subsidence on file as any new owner wont be able to get insurance either.

paddyandstumpy

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

BTW since the work was done, I have not been able to obtain insurance for subsidence from anyone and only from the original insurer at a grossly inflated price even though supposedly fixed to building regs. by their appointed builders. be warned. Also you won't be able to sell your house with subsidence on file as any new owner wont be able to get insurance either.

If you sold your house the current insurer is duty bound to maintain cover with the new owner, as long as the rest of the risk is acceptable to them (i.e. you're not on an age restricted product like Saga and you sell to a pair of 30 year olds).

An earlier post mentioned new build, which got me thinking. OP, given the remedial work is estimated at £700k, would it be cheaper or comparable to demolish and rebuild? You don't pay VAT on new builds, so it would make the works 20% cheaper...
Plus you might be able to salvage things like bathroom suites and your kitchen from the existing structure.