Hi all,
Interested in thoughts before I contact our insurer.
My house has had some historical movement which was noted by the insurer (after they were alerted by us). It was written off and left at that. We had some underpinning carried out at our expense as 'preventative maintenance' to stop any future subsidence from occurring at a later date. There was NO movement on the external walls of the property, just the internal partition walls which had very shallow footing.
Any ideas how insurers will look at this situation? Plenty of info on 'subsidence' that has already occurred, but nothing in this scenario where technically it has not...
Is your insurer refusing to renew cover? What are the timescales involved in all this? Is it only cosmetic damaged caused by the movement? What sort of underpinning was carried out and was any form of warranty/guarantee given? Sorry for the 20 questions but I deal with subsidence claims now and then.
Our house has been underpinned and all that insurers ask is has there been any subsidence. Answer: no.
No that's fine appreciate your questions, thank you...
The work was carried out last August. It is thought that a leaking drain caused some issues. There is no visible sign of movement on the wall underpinned, but it was only when the builder was having a dig around that he noticed some voids probably caused by a leaking drain. As no movement had occurred, there was no actual subsidence. But we were bound to have this rectified as a duty of care (at our expense) before it happened. The insurer is aware of all of this but I need to tell them regarding the new work.
However, I am still in discussions with the neighbour over the drain itself. He's being difficult. He shares it with a number of other properties, but it's on his land so it is in effect still leaking but the concrete is going nowhere.
The underpinning has a 10 year guarantee with Build Assure.
I'd just tell the insurer all of the above to be honest, it shows that you're taking gpod care of your home. Also mention the neighbours drain - water is the most common factor when it comes to subsidence. Your insurer may even give some advice as to the action to take against your neighbour though you may need to speak to someone a bit further up the ladder. Essentially lack of maintenance by your neighbour is impacting your homw and must be rectified.
OK, thanks all. So here's my next question...
I'm planning to buy my ex-girlfriend out and in the process of applying for a mortgage on my own. It's affordable, but if the insurer whacks up the premium right up (I've read about sums of £1000 pa) it might affect my affordability calcs to the lender. So I'm wondering if I do it now or after the mortgage has gone through...
If you've had preventative work done there should be no reason for them to increase the premium (or perhaps only by a nominal amount). Besides, you'll need proof of valid insurance for the mortgage lender won't you? Main thing to sort out is the issue with your neighbour's drain - you may need to start writing to him.
Thanks. I guess that answers my question to some extent. I'll be interested to see if the insurer makes a significant change for preventative work over remedial. I'd hope not, especially as they didn't pay out, but we'll see as it's a risk based thing isn't it?
Thinking I might need to back off plans to remortgage and get this sorted first. Which is a bummer, because living with an ex for a year is less than ideal!! Hey ho 😉
If you really want to find out - go online and get a quote.