House Insurance claim question.

[Wingedharpy]

Just looking for general advice based on others' experiences here.

I've contacted my home insurers as we have some evidence that we may have subsidence in our home.

My claim has been acknowledged and someone will contact me from the claims department.

In the meantime, what am I supposed to do?
Should I be getting someone out to look at or attend to specific things - drain leakages is the suspected source of the damage - or do I sit tight and wait for insurers to contact me?

I don't want to mess up the claim but similarly I don't want to sit here while my house may be being washed away from under me?

I've never claimed on house insurance before so am a complete novice.

All advice/thoughts gratefully received.

Anyone?

You don't do anything unless they've told you to

They will send someone out to identify the potential cause(s). After that there will be more thorough investigations to confirm.

From my experience be prepared to chase as you'll end up with a lot of parties involved - insurers, loss adjusters, engineers, building firms etc.

That's what DH said purpleme12, but it's killing me, not least of all because I'm fairly sure the problem is due to decrepit, cracked Victorian glazed sewer.
I want to tell water supplier (it is a public sewer even though it's in our garden) but DH says not to.
That, to me, seems like waiting for permission to turn off the stopcock when water is pouring through the ceiling.

If there's the potential a third party's property is causing the damage or is involved do not contact them directly as you could prejudice the insurers position.

If you want to do anything chase up the insurer but don't try and do anything yourself until advised by the insurer.

I think you need to sit tight and wait for the insurers to get back to you.

Trouble is, I can't get hold of the insurer.
Everyone is "working from home", emails take 10 working days for a response, phone lines : I'm constantly held in a queue.
I'm CEV and the prospect of raw sewage (not just my own raw sewage) seeping under the patio is filling me with horror.
There's a health issue here.
The cracks and subsidence can be dealt with later but the sewage surely, HAS to be dealt with as a matter of some urgency?

The insurers will instruct loss adjusters, who will get in touch with you and arrange lots of inspections and monitoring: eg drains inspection; trees (if appropriate - taking soil samples to identify roots); monitoring cracks to see if they grow or shrink (readings taken over the course of a year); investigating the type of foundations.

They'll identify the cause(s) and take action to remedy them. Once the building is stable they'll organise repairs.

They'll organise everything but for some things they'll ask you to enter into a contract directly with the contractors, even though you don't pay them.

Why do you think it's the Victorian sewer? If it is cracked and has been saturating the soil, it's unlikely to suddenly start pushing effluent above ground level. I think that only happens if there's a blockage and it backs up.

It's not just cracked - it's completely worn away in several parts.

I made the mistake of lifting the manhole cover to view, and was mortified by it.

No trees near enough to be an issue.

No mines nearby.

No clay soil.

It's a bit of a moot point now as since my first post and failure to get hold of anyone to speak with at insurance company, I have contacted water supplier and reported it.

Aaagh!

I've taken photos for the insurance folk and water company are sending someone out within 3 days to assess.
I'll try insurers again tomorrow to see if they want me to defer that visit.
Would that work do you think?

Or have I buggered things up completely?😥😥

@Wingedharpy it may have been better to let your insurers deal with the water company as if there is damage they will try and get them/their insurers to pay for the costs.
Who are you insurers?

@arthurdaly : Rias.
They were very quick to respond to my claim submission form.
Someone phoned me the same evening to confirm receipt and said someone from claims dept would contact me on Monday - ie. Yesterday - but I've heard nothing.
I didn't know about the sewer horror when I submitted the form but once I discovered it, I emailed Rias to ask if I should contact water company or not.
That's when I got the automated email reply saying we'll reply to this within 10 working days.
I'm driving myself (and DH) round the bend with this, but my sensible head says plug the leak ASAP so that we minimise risk of even more damage to house foundations, potentially.
It was a building engineer, engaged by me, that said it looked like subsidence.
He, unfortunately, did not look down the sewer.

OP, it has probably been like that for ages and ages.

Take a deep breath and wait for the insurance co to deal with it now you have contacted them.

In an ideal world it might have been best not to contact the insurers until you knew whether or not there is actually a structural issue: contacted the drain people first and a structural engineer and then fine to the insurers had they said there was a problem.

Try not to catastrophise. It is concerning, and frustrating that things take so long. Just update the insurers that you have called the water people and ask what progress they have made in getting it looked at.

OK, sorry, missed that you have had a structural engineer look.

If you are concerned that there is an immediate risk to your property your insurer should act pretty quickly, so call them again today and explain that (no emails, just phone calls, escalating as needed). Make them aware that the water company are coming out.

We had issues with our back door linked to an insurance claim which meant it was getting to the point where it wouldn't shut/lock and they sent someone the next day at the height of the pandemic. They don't want your house to fall down or be further damaged as they'll have to pay out more.

As previous people have said this issue won't have happened overnight and you're making all of the right moves.

Good luck!

Talk to the water company about your concerns.

Just came back to update and thank you wise MN'ers for your guidance.
I contacted insurers at crack of dawn to ask if it was OK to have water company visit before insurers had done anything.
No problem was the reply, much to my relief.
Water Co. did visit this morning and assessed.
Said repair necessary - did I consent to this?
Thanks to you wise people, I said "No! Not until I've spoken to my insurers".
My concern was, repair would erase all trace of the issue before insurers' surveyor has had chance to see it.

@UpTheJunktion : You are so right - it has probably been seeping away there for years.
Who looks down a manhole unless there's a problem?

Insurer's surveyor making contact within next couple of days.

Off to drink gin.

Well done OP.

I hope you feel a bit calmer - I am sure the water company would have said if they thought you were in imminent danger of a sewage Tsunami or other catastrophe.

Fingers crossed it all gets sorted with little ado.