subsidence Insurance FAQS

All buildings move and settle over the years, sometimes leaving hairline cracks, but these are rarely cause for concern and are only cosmetic. The difference with subsidence is that large cracks appear both inside and outside the property in a very short period of time.

Common symptoms of subsidence include:

• Doors and windows getting ‘stuck’ and becoming harder to open or close.
• Wallpaper buckling in the corners of rooms.
• Cracks appearing in plaster inside the house, often next to doors and windows.
• Cracks appearing in brickwork outside the house.
• Sudden cracks appearing after extremely dry weather.
• Diagonal cracks that are wider than 1mm and wider at the top than the bottom.

Contact your home buildings insurance provider who will guide you through the best course of action to take. Usually, a surveyor or engineer will be dispatched to make an assessment.

Often cases of subsidence can be handled quickly and effectively without requiring foundation repairs, but where foundation work does become necessary it can be costly and disruptive.

To give yourself the best possible chance of avoiding underpinning (or similar repairs) then it is in your interest to contact your insurer as soon as you notice a potential problem. Tree control measures might be taken, or leaky pipes surveyed and repaired, and in some cases little more will need to be done than some cosmetic repair/redecoration.

Assuming that subsidence damage has been properly repaired there shouldn’t be a significant impact on the value of your property, however, many buyers will perceive the risk of subsidence recurring as a deterrent. It can also be harder to insure a property with a history of subsidence, unless you use a specialist insurer.

Most home insurance policies will include subsidence cover as standard (unless stated otherwise which may be an issue with many insurers if you have had subsidence issues in the past).

Typical practice will involve despatching a qualified professional to inspect damage, which you will probably not have to pay for if arranged by your insurer, and the expert will be able to establish whether or not the damage undergone is covered by your policy.

An excess for subsidence claims is usually applicable. This excess will usually be chargeable to you if and when repairs are undertaken.

If your property has had problems with subsidence in the past, you are likely to have trouble getting the cover you need when you look to purchase home insurance, even if the problem has already been fixed for some time.

With Homeprotect, this is not the case. We aim to deliver a competitive online quote for subsidence insurance, based on the risk your property represents now, not on the risk it represented whilst being repaired.

The subsidence excess is the amount that you must pay when making a claim for subsidence. This is usually a one-off payment of a set amount. Subsidence is caused by the downward movement of the ground beneath a house.