What is the connection between Subsidence, Slippage and home insurance quote?

The words subsidence and slippage instil panic into even the least temperamental of home owners. To them, subsidence and slippage mean hassle, disruption and expense. To make things worse, the subsidence is not the biggest headache, it’s trying to insure a home with a history of being affected by subsidence and slippage.

What’s worse is that those people who want to find out advice and information about subsidence will see that it is very difficult. You won’t get much help from the government and any other guidance will cost you, unless you have a surveyor in the family who is prepared to help.

It’s almost amazing how difficult it is to find information about subsidence since in the mid-1970s there were only £5m of subsidence claims, and these days it’s more like £350m, because more and more properties are being built on land that is prone to slippage.

Subsidence can happen to almost every home. The ground beneath our feet, wherever we are, is always on the move. Mining, tree planting, water extraction, tree removal and other work can contribute to the problem. Natural phenomena also contributes as do other major geographical faults.

As soon as you see signs of subsidence (cracks in the wall, floors and ceilings) you should get a surveyor in and contact your insurance company. You may find that you’ll need work on your home’s foundations. You need to understand that once a property has a history of subsidence, you will forever have insurance problems.

Once remedial work has been completed and approved, you should find it easier to get insurance. At least, this is what is claimed by the insurance companies. However, this is not actually the case in reality. Only a few insurers, and they are likely to be specialists, will get involved in covering ‘previously underpinned properties’.

If you are an existing home owner, and you make a subsidence claim, you will very likely get cover as long as your remedial work is done. You may have to pay a higher premium though. But the biggest problem is that once a house is sold and the new owner tries to obtain buildings and contents insurance, they will find it almost impossible.

If a homeowner suspects their property has a subsidence related problem, they have a Scheme whereby they arrange an inspection of the property, this includes the Surveyor and the applicant having an on-site consultation. The Surveyor carries out an inspection of the property along with a desk study of the area. They then provide a report summarizing their findings, what they think is the cause of the problem and ways to remedy the situation or formulating a claim. This Scheme has a fee of £250.00 (inc. VAT).

What to do if you have to make a online home insurance quote claim.

Firstly, if your property is getting damaged, do not wait until you get hold of your insurance company and they process your claim before you do all you can to prevent the damage getting any worse. Get temporary work carried out it. Most insurance companies should cover you for this. Check with your insurance company if you are unsure, ideally before an incident occurs.

Insurance companies tend to have emergency help lines. These will be able to give you advice in case of trouble. Keep this number in a safe and accessible place. You do not want to have to search frantically for this number in an emergency.

When you have an insurance policy, you should be fully aware of your policy details and which situation are covered. If you aren’t sure, you should refer to your policy so you can check that whatever loss or damage you have incurred is covered by your hoem insurance and house contents insurance quote policy.

Then decide which policy you want to claim under. Is it your buildings insurance – which covers the structure of your home and any fixtures or fittings? Or is it your contents insurance – which covers your possessions that you could take away with you should you move?

As soon as you can in an emergency, advise your insurance company of the situation. But get your priorities straight. If you have been in a burglary, call the police first. If your credit cards have been stolen, call your card companies and get them cancelled.

Telephone your insurance company and tell them what happened. Ask for a claim form, then fill it out when it arrives and send it back with estimates for the cost of repair or replacement. Should estimates be hard to obtain (if there has been a flood, a lot of people will be wanting estimates at the same time), then return your claim form anyway, telling the insurer that you will forward estimates when you are able to.

Keep your damaged items, they are evidence when you claim. Keep sodden or burnt items in an outhouse if you don’t want to keep them in your house. You will need your receipts, warranties and other documents as further evidence of your losses

When your insurance company receives your claims form, it will take one of three actions. They may simply pay your claim. Or they might send round a claims assessor to your property, who will clear up your queries and arrange with you the basis on which the claim will be settled. Thirdly, a loss adjuster could be sent to handle your claim. They might be an expert in an area and could advice on repairs or replacement.