Insurance query do I need to update insurer

LorF

I have been approached about a garden wall, that my council think could be unsafe.  I am struggling to find out if I own this wall.  The wall is missing off my deeds.  My insurance ends in December, do I need to make my insurer aware.  Husband thinks they may terminate our insurance at renewal stage if we tell them and encounter other future insurance issues.

marcia_

 Don't see why you would need to inform your insurer. If the wall is on your boundary it is probably your unless shared with a neighbour then it could be theirs or shared. Deeds would be unlikely to show the wall but will say where your boundaries are. 

YBR

Is the wall between your garden and a footpath or between your garden and another garden, or something else?

In any case I guess it would be prudent to put money aside, if you can, in case you need to contribute to maintaining/replacing it.

eddddy

Assuming the wall does belong to you...

Are you asking because you're thinking that your insurers will pay for repairs?

If so, that's very unlikely. Repairs to a garden wall gradually falling over wouldn't be covered by a standard home insurance policy.

I can't see any particular reason to inform your insurers, as there's no real scope for a claim. And simply contacting them could be logged as an "incident" which could increase future premiums.



But your home insurance probably has Property Owner's Liability cover. So if the wall unexpectedly fell and damaged property (e.g. a passing car) or onto a person, your insurer should cover any resulting 3rd Party claim.

But that might be more difficult, if the council has told you that the wall is dangerous, and you do nothing about it. That would make you negligent.




What exactly has the council told you to do? For example, if they say it's dangerous and you do nothing, they might put up fencing to keep people clear and/or send in contractors to make it safe or demolish it - and send you a (huge) bill for their work.

dunstonh

  My insurance ends in December, do I need to make my insurer aware.  

Your insurer is not responsible for maintenance.  That comes out of your pocket.

 Husband thinks they may terminate our insurance at renewal stage if we tell them and encounter other future insurance issues.

As its not an insurance issue, that won't happen.

LorF

I think wall is not just a maintenance issue.  I think wall may not be built properly though it stands despite all bad weathers for at least 53 years.   It has a very solid wall behind it.   If it was maintenance I would  pay for it.  Wall defect looks like a major wall rebuild on a highway.  I was advised I need to get structural engineer, and number 4 contacted with no joy so far. I have detailed conveyancing agreement for house and it is so odd a major wall is missing where it should specify my neighbour and I are responsible for it.  It’s a railway cottage.  My neighbour mentioned the council built the wall, after land and property was built and upset local residents, I cannot find info yet about this. I  have found today old maps support a verge applied on this land which is probably why wall missing from legal documents as built after house and land done.   I asked Railway Board for historic info about the wall,they are not providing it.  It’s a big headache.sorry should have added this info earlier. 

DullGreyGuy

LorF said:

I think wall is not just a maintenance issue.  I think wall may not be built properly though it stands despite all bad weathers for at least 53 years.  

Defective workmanship/design is also excluded from Home Insurance. A claim against the designer/builder may be considered under the Legal Expenses policy, if taken out, but at 53 years old you are several decades beyond the law of limitations even if they still exist.

Aretnap

Most home insurance policies are defined by the things that they do cover, not the things that they don't cover. Your policy booklet will contain a list of things that are covered ("perils" to use the jargon) - fire, flood, subsidence, storm damage etc - and if you want to make a claim you have to say which peril caused the damage that you are claiming for. So it's not so much a question if whether you consider it to be a maintenance issue, but whether you can pin it on any of the insured perils.

The only standard peril which feels like it's even a possibility is subsidence. However most policies subsidence sections exclude damage to things like walls and fences unless the main property is also damaged. A history of subsidence is also really not something you want to be attached to your home if you can avoid it, so think very carefully before you go down that route.

The exception to the above is if you have an "all risks" policy. These policies are with a bit differently - they cover "bad stuff in general" and then have a list of exclusions. The end result is likely to be the same in this case though as the exclusions will include wear and tear, poor workmanship and most things that happen gradually over time. 

So sorry, but I think it's very unlikely that you will get this dealt with under your home insurance. In general home insurance covers one off events which cause damage to your home. Gradual degradation over years or decades is not really something that you can insure against - it's part of the joy of being a homeowner.

TELLIT01

If the wall wasn't built properly it wouldn't still be standing after more than 50 years.  However, in that time there may have been ground movement from frost, heavy rain etc.  The only time an insurance company may get involved is if the wall collapsed and injured a third party.

LorF

This matter has finally been resolved.  Some old os maps free under library of Scotland showed land differences.  When queried a missing 1887 important legal agreement was found to support wall not owned by myself or neighbour.  Very relieved problem wall is not mine or my neighbours.