Subsidence insurance - help please

[Helpmeex]

Hi, I bought a property last week which had a subsidence issue which has been fixed July 25. Already regretting it so pls be kind as deed is done already. Well we’ve phone up the current insurers and they have refused to insure the property for reasons best known to them. I was of the understanding that they had to continue insuring the property as it’s all been fixed through them but apparently not. Now I’m struggling to find an alternative insurer and the few that will insure have said subsidence will be excluded from the insurance which is really no good. Before I completed I ask the current owners for a copy of their policy document and it was dated sep 25 to sep 26 so insurance was renewed for them after the works, any reason they’d refuse to offer it to us now? I’ve been told it’s not due to us as owners but the building itself. Any advice on what to do next please? Do I contact BIBA or financial ombudsman?

assuming you have a certificate and guarantee for the works done I can’t see why this would be a problem. I was in your exact position when I bought my first property which had subsidence caused by tree root action. We went through an insurance broker rather than direct with one of the high street insurance companies. We
then stuck with the broker for the 10 years we were in that property. I can’t recall it being significantly more expensive than any other provider. Enjoy your new home.

@uptomyeyes1 hiya thanks for this. Do you remember what brokers you used if that’s ok. I’m finding brokers refusing to insure except we exclude subsidence cover.

Sorry no- we left that house some years ago. Do you have the certificate for the works being done and the guarantee? That should be more that enough for a broker to find an insurers as it effectively makes the property less risky than one with unknown risks.

This is odd (and I’m assuming you’re in England or Wales):

at the point of exchange (which is generally a week or two before completion) the purchaser needs to take out property insurance beginning from the exchange date. @Helpmeex did you do this or only try to arrange property insurance from the date of completion?

I would have thought that if you experienced problems trying to take out an insurance policy it would have raised a red flag and exchange could have been delayed until a suitable insurance policy could have been arranged.

You might want to try a specialist insurance broker?

Our house is a Grade II listed 1850s house and can’t use the usual comparison websites and therefore insure via:

www.howdeninsurance.co.uk (5* on Trustpilot)

It might also be worth trying the National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance:

www.nfumutual.co.uk

Good luck!

@uptomyeyes1 thank you for responding. We have all the paperwork but still got no’s. Out of curiosity, did you struggle to sell the property? - I’m really trying not to regret the purchase. We viewed it and loved the property instantly, I followed my heart and not my head and just feeling down about it all.

@Roaminginthegloaming so we did a simultaneous exchange and completion. I requested the sellers policy and saw that the company re-insured them after the subsidence claim and took this as they were happy to continue insuring. I also got a few quotes off compare the market so thought this was ok. But now when I’ve disclosed full details no one wants to offer cover with subsidence. I will try some of the sites you have suggested, thank you so much for your help

@Helpmeexplease don’t worry about this. It will be fine. When we sold, the 25 year guarantee certificate had just expired and the buyers solicitor did raise a question and bizarrely asked us for the contact details of the local authority officer who had signed off the works (ie the works that had take. Place 15 years before we bought the house! We said we were absolutely not going to engage in such total bonkersness
amd the conveyancing solicitors had to crack on with the sale…. which they did and it was all done and dusted very quickly. It did not hold up the sale at all.

You need to speak to the brokers, rather than do anything online. I can recommend Howden too

Yes speak to an actual broker, they’ll probably have access to specialist insurers. What was the e subsidence issue, is it something likely to re-occur?

You will be able to get subsidence cover from a specialist broker, try Howdens for example and as others mentioned do it by phone. Cover is going to be more expensive and excess higher though obviously.
With regards to selling the property in future dont worry. Some people will be put off yes - so your pool of potentials may be smaller. Plenty won't mind as long as the price reflects the situation. I imagine you negotiated an appropriate price to reflect the issue ? You just need to be setting an appropriate price when you sell and be prepared to negotiate a bit if it becomes an issue for the next buyer.
On a positive note you should now have a Certificate of Structural Adequacy so you can be confident its not a problem now. The work will be covered by a long guarantee too.

The existing insurers have a duty to continue the insurance at the same premium. Push back on this.

As I understood it yes that's true but they can still exclude cover for further subsidence - using the Certificate of Structural Adequacy and the works guarantee as grounds.

Hi all thank you so much for all your support. We got insurance today through Howdens, it’s a little higher with quite a bit more excess for subsidence but thankfully sorted. Hopefully it’ll keep going down now, thanks.