HJWD wrote:
Hi,

I inherited a property (3 bed semi) when my Aunty passed away and it
suffered from subsidence caused by leaking foul-water drains. The
drains were repaired and the cracks in the walls and ceilings were
fixed under house insurance. So far, so good. This took 5-6 months and
a lot of hassle!

When checking the drains, they were also meant to check the front drain
but never did despite me continually asking them what the state of the
front drain was. Also, the insurance surveyor did not even look under
the suspended ground floor despite knowing the drains leaked!

Well, the insurance building work has just been completed but now I
have found that there is a collection of 2-3 inches of water under the
suspended floor which I strongly suspect is coming from a leaking front
drain!!! I have seen water under there a couple of months ago too but
not as much as it appears after a heavy downfall of rain!

I suspect that the front drain has been leaking for many years and the
suspended floor joists are now pretty rotten and there is rising damp.
So bad that the entire floor needs replacing!! I think there is
woodworm too!

I have told the insurance company and surveyors about this and I said
that the structural integrity of the building report should not go
ahead until this is sorted.

Initially the insurance company have said that the floor is not
covered! But I think they have a duty to put it right as it has been
caused by the same problem of leaking drains that they have already
accepted has caused the subsidence!

If this front drain leak continues it will just cause the subsidence to
happen again and so ruin the expensive insurance repair work just
completed!

I have been doing the property up in order to let it out but now I
can't do much to it because of this!! It is becoming a real pain for
me! I even have a fitted kitchen on order!

Your advice please! Also, has anyone had a similar experience?

Thanks, Howard.


In my limited experience (one case actually) the insurers needed to
satisfy themselves that a) the damage was caused by a single isolated
"event" which could not have been anticipated, and b) that subsequent
deterioration was unavoidable because the insured could not have been
aware of the "event".
In this case the "event" was the failure of an ancient valve below the
floor, and the reason the subsequent leak was allowed to continue and
cause the damage was that the floor covering prevented any evidence of
the situation showing up in the house. With any other type of flooring
this couldn't really be justified.
They could have argued that the valve was in a poor state and the damage
was therefore due to negligence but I guess we're not expected to take
the floor up every now and then to check these things. If your front
rainwater drain failed at some point in time, and you couldn't
reasonably have known about it, then they should deal with the claim.
Sounds like they screwed up first time round and fixed the wrong
problem. Is it likely that both the sewer and the rainwater drain would
be at fault?
I wouldn't take the advice about getting legal advice. I once chased a
major insurer for nearly a year and they behaved like the worst type of
rogue trader. I couldn't believe the stunts they pulled but The
Insurance Ombudsman decided in my favour eventually. That really is the
only way, and they will tell you quite quickly if yours is a case they
consider worthwhile fighting. I hope it doesn't come to that anyway.