Daft question about suspected subsidence and who to call

orangecrush

Yeah I’m worried about our insurance 🙈 We have a loft conversion planned for next summer too which will no doubt be delayed if it is subsidence.

We have drains within 2 metres, so not in the immediate area but close. 

We thought about leaving it but one of the problems is the paving has sagged underneath the front steps, so the steps are now coming away from the wall. If it’s all down to the same thing, we may as well get it sorted at the same time. No point shelling out for new pathway and steps if it’s just going to keep sagging more. 

This all happened while we were on holiday. A bit stressful to come back and find it. I’m sure it’s down to clay shrinkage because there’s a gap now between our lawn and the paving, all the way around. We have very heavy clay and this summer our area has had around 30% of the average rainfall. A nearby lake has dried up for the first time in decades. I’m sure lots of people are in the same position, clay soil and drought.

orangecrush

Update:
We couldn’t get any builders to come and have a look in a reasonable time frame. Then we noticed more internal cracks that corresponded with the external cracks. So we called in insurance company.

Our insurer sent a photographer who took a few pictures and went off saying he’d send them to an assessor. 

The assessor called yesterday and I’m a bit astounded by what they’ve said.
First he said the damage was very minor and it was down to the ash tree near the house. So the tree has to go. Fair enough I said, but what can we replant as the tree gives us privacy. He said we’d need to consult an arborist.

He then said the cost of repointing the cracks and removing the tree would be less than the excess, so we should withdraw our claim. I asked him about the path and the steps. He said they wouldn’t be covered as it was unrelated. 

So, the steps to our front door can fall off, and the paving collapse, and there be evidence of subsidence all within the same 1x2m area… but only the cracks are down to subsidence. I asked what he thought the cause of the other things was then. He said the slabs had been laid on soil. Absolutely not, I told him, there was mortar between and underneath the slabs and a concrete base for the steps and they’re all sinking. He said as he couldn’t see it from Google maps he couldn’t tell. Our car was parked on the driveway so there’s no clear view.

I asked what on earth the photographer took photos of then, he said just the cracks in the wall. I showed the photographer all the damage, including the steps and paving. The photographer said it pretty clearly looked like clay shrink to him. But the assessor on the phone said as they can’t see from Google
maps they can’t assess the damage. Baffling.

And there’s more. After laughing at the google situation, which the assessor got upset at, I asked about the other trees and shrubs in the garden. He said “which trees and shrubs?”. I said there’s some large spindle, a 6 foot conifer, a 15 foot laburnum. Guess what he said? “I can’t see them from Google maps so I can’t say.” I told him they were all closer than the ash tree. He said “oh well it must be those instead of the ash tree, better take them out then”. I asked how he knew they were the cause if he didn’t even know where they were. He didn’t have an answer. 

Anyway the upshot is that they’re going to decline the claim: they do think it is subsidence due to clay shrinking/ heat/ trees but they only think the cracks in the brick are down to that and we can remove the trees and repoint the cracks ourselves. Job done. The sinking pavement or collapsing steps must be coincidentally happening at the same time and in the same spot, despite all being there absolutely fine for around 30 years beforehand. 

WTAF is insurance for?! 

Alderbank

You say the assessor called yesterday.
Just to be clear, did he visit your property and inspect the structure or has he never visited but made his assessment remotely from third party photographs and Google satellite images?

Will you be shown his written report?

orangecrush

A photographer visited, the assessor has never been here. And seems to be making a judgement based on google street view 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I’m not sure if I’m completely out of date but surely there’s more to it than that?
This guy is from Innovation Group, not my insurer, but is handling the claim for them.
He was strongly encouraging me to withdraw the claim as the excess is likely to be more than the cost. Which may be the case. But can he really make that assessment from Google? 

Edited to add: he’s emailed me his view. Which isn’t a formal report. He seemed to be suggesting that we’d only get an actual surveyor if we proceed with the claim. Which runs the risk of higher premiums for however long, plus an excess that may be more than the cost to fix it all. But how can they know how much it will cost without having a survey?

Is this what insurance is actually like? I’ve never had to claim on anything before and just find this astoundingly bad.