Monday, May 6, 2013

Got a building that's sinking into the ground? Make sure you've got building insurance subsidence

When a building is sinking into the ground we call it building subsidence, and this is usually because of the clay soil that the building stands on shrinks. If a building has a history of this then you will need a special kind of insurance policy to protect yourself if it ever occurs again.

Thousands of homes and buildings all around the country are suffering or have a history of suffering from something called subsidence, which is essentially where your home is unstable or sinking into the ground. This can obviously cause all kinds of problems including damage to the structure of the building, and this occurs usually when a home is built on clay soil. This is because clay soil shrinks as it dries, so if it is particularly dry for a long period of time subsidence can occur or sometimes surrounding trees and plants can suck the moisture away. The biggest sign that subsidence is affecting a building is the wall displaying cracks which will be both on the inside and the outside of the building, so it's worth keeping a look out for them.

If you live or work in a building that has a previous history of subsidence or if you suspect that the building is prone to subsidence then you will need to get an insurance policy to cover this: building insurance subsidence, to be exact. This is a unusual kind of policy so you will need to get in touch with an insurance company that specialises in building subsidence. You may also need to provide them with detailed information on the building and its subsidence-based history, such as structural engineers reports or a home buyer report, so that they can properly assess the building and provide you with the appropriate level of cover.