Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Subsidence insurance?
I'm aware of someone selling their flat on the ladder, whose buyers have said their mortgage provider won't move ahead until there is insurance in place that covers subsidence.
The seller has been calling around to ask insurers and most say they won't include this as we are in a high risk area.
This is a surprise to me, as my nearby flat, which I bought in 2021, was deemed to be in a 'moderate risk area'. My survey said there was no evidence that subsidence was likely to be an issue, and so we moved ahead. And our mortgage provider didn't insist on subsidence coverage being in place.
Have other people had problems getting insurance for ladder properties that includes subsidence cover? Or a mortgage provider flagging this issue?
Thanks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by adamvietnam
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Does the seller not just have to buy an indemnity policy for subsidence. I seem to remember having to do it once and I think it was somewhere between £300-£600
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Permalink Reply by Dick Harris
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In 1997 my house showed some slight cracking which was investigated and led to an insurance claim. When some years later, I wanted to change insurance company I had some difficulty but resisted going a company said to specialise in such cases. Eventually, Norwich Union (later known as Aviva) agreed to cover the building subject to an increased excess for the cost of repairing any damage arising from Subsidence (or heave). This was fine for several years but more recently still I started afresh with NFU. They reviewed the report of the 1997 investigation and said that enough time had passed trouble free for the risk of subsidence to be regarded as not abnormally high.
The 1997 report said
As most buildings in the ladder date from the same period (about 1890 to 1900) and most will rest on London clay, this text shows a reasonable basis for the notion that our area has some risk of subsidence. Moreover, I would guess that insurance companies' systems have shared data as to which houses have had subsidence claims in the past and if your house is near one of these, they will be cautious.
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