Conservatory subsidence - effect on insurance and what to do

[Thewishingchair123]

Hi, wondering if any wise Mumsnetters might have knowledge or experience about dealing with a property with subsidence (conservatory only it seems).
I have lived in my property (detached property) for around 10 years (no mortgage).
When we bought it, the basic survey flagged that the conservatory was not in good condition (there was /us a small gap between the start of the conservatory and the walls of the house and overall not in good nick with the blinds etc needing replacing ). Recall that the survey flagged this would take around £7k off the house’s value.
Always aware that the conservatory needed replacing but its condition has got worse and there is clear subsidence now on the floor area near the door. Did not realise until now (stupidly , pls be kind) that conservatory’s, although having only eg a 20 yr life-expectancy, are considered part of the property and this should be declared for insurance.
I know I will need to declare

• Does anyone have any idea how much insurance may go up by (currently paying £35 a month). Worried it will go up astronomically.

I understand I may need to be referred to a specialist insurance broker. Also thinking that I may need to bring in a structural engineer to assess the situation and check the rest of the property. Wondering if the insurance company will ask for this too. Thanks for reading. Any advice is much appreciated.

Why don’t you exclude the conservatory from the insurance policy. I’m assuming there are doors of some sort between the house and the conservatory

If there’s subsidence and you want the conservatory insured they’ll want the subsidence fixed. You will need a structural engineer to survey and spec the worked needed

It's not uncommon for older conservatories to have insufficient footings. Do you want to keep it or replace it?

Thanks to both replies. @DrPrunesqualer I will look to try and exclude the conservatory from the insurance if I can do that. Yes there are doors between the house and conservatory.
@unsync thanks. Ideally I would knock it down and build an extension. However realistically I don’t have the funds for an extension , so thinking just knock it down. I don’t need the space and I don’t want to keep the conservatory ideally.

There was an episode of Your Home Made Perfect on the BBC where someone rebuilt their conservatory in an inexpensive way. If you use timber frame, SIP panels and standard window sizes, it can be done relatively cheaply.

@unsync Thank you - I will check out options. I really appreciate your reply.

Are you sure its actually general subsidence if the rest of the house is unaffected?

It could just be poorly built shallow footings on the original conservatory (is it the old plastic roof type?) which you would presumably have addressed anyway if you knew it needed replacing.

If you planned to knock it down anyway I’d be inclined to go ahead.

@C8H10N4O2 thank you. I just assumed it would be classified as conservatory subsidence. It is the old plastic roof type and I think probably does have poorily built shallow footings. I will definitely get it knocked down.

@Subsidenceexpert thank you too. I do think it’s defective design. Problem is now I’ve declared the issue to my insurers saying I think the conservatory has subsidence and asking them to ensure my house can still be insured.
Is my next best step to get a structural engineer in to confirm,hopefully, that the house itself has no subsidence, that the problem hopefully is due to the conservatory being built defectively. I’d then aim to get it knocked down.
thank you so much. I really appreciate your help. My main concern was my overall property wouldn’t be insured. I hope I haven’t totally messed things up :(