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subsidence

Subsidence claims surge following hot summer

subsidence Having faced freezing temperatures and snow drifts in late March, the summer of 2018 couldn’t have been in greater contrast when it comes to the weather. Britain baked in record breaking temperatures amid a hot dry spell that seemed to go on for months. Large swathes of land were so parched that fires erupted across the country in places such as Manchester and Dartmoor.

But, while we all basked in sunshine, could there have been an unsuspected consequence? Are some homeowners now paying the price for this hot weather? The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reported that during July to September 2018, subsidence claims reached a 12-year high. Claims reached the same levels experienced during a similar heatwave in 2006.

10,000 households made claims totalling £64 million. The increase potentially and partially related to the drying out of properties and foundations during the heatwave.

So what is subsidence and how do you spot the signs? Importantly, what do you need to be watching out for in your home or holiday cottage?

What is subsidence ..?

Subsidence occurs when the ground beneath a property moves, collapses or shrinks. This causes additional stress on the foundations of the building it’s supporting.

Wondering how the weather could potentially cause subsidence in a property? All ground contains water; when the ground is subject to long periods of heat that water begins to be lost, causing the ground to shrink (a little like a sponge without any water). As the ground shrinks, the foundations on which the property were built are strained and pulled in different directions, with this stress potentially leading to problems with the overall structure of the building.

How do you spot potential subsidence?

  1. The tell-tale sign of subsidence is the sudden appearance of cracks within the property
  2. These may well be more prevalent around doors and windows
  3. Any cracks will often appear thicker than a 10 pence piece
  4. Cracks will usually be diagonal in nature due to the forces being placed on the property walls; often be wider at the top than the bottom
  5. If you have wallpaper in your cottage you may find that this begins to rip or crinkle as the wall shape distorts slightly.

What to do if you’re worried about subsidence

It’s important to highlight that not every crack is as a result of subsidence – both new and older properties will move slightly over time and have only visual cracks as a result, which won’t be of any structural concern. We recommend that if you do have any concerns about subsidence in your home or holiday home you report them to your insurer. You may need to have a structural survey undertaken to ensure that everything is as it should be. A full structural survey is also advised before purchasing a home, buy-to-let or holiday home property.

To discuss how our specialist holiday home insurance could keep your cottage covered, please give our helpful team a call on 01237 429 444.

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Richfords Fire and Flood

Holiday home insurance claim from the restoration companies perspective

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In this article we look closely at a holiday home insurance claim from the restoration companies perspective.

Holiday Home in Cornwall

Richfords Fire and Flood

The property is a terraced house split into 3 holiday flats, all of which had suffered a vertical Escape of Water (clean) in April. All three of the flats are used as holiday properties and had summer bookings, therefore the property needed to be restored as soon as possible to minimise the loss of rental income.

The Holiday Home Insurance Claim | Escape of Water causing a Vertical Flood

On the 7th of April a vertical flood was discovered as a result of a leaking pipe under the bath in the 2nd floor bathroom (Flat 3); Water escaped downwards in to 1st floor (Flat 2) and ground floor (Flat 1).

As a result of this leak there was a lot of work that needed to be carried out to restore the apartments, one of the first things being a check of the electrical circuit. This was to ensure that the electrics were safe and that water damage had not compromised them. If it had been found that they had been affected by the water, a temporary board would have been installed so that there was no further risk of electrocution or fire, as well as enabling the drying equipment to run safely and the occupants to have a safe electricity supply.

First response

The loss adjusting company first called Richfords in the morning of the 8th of April. Within two hours Richfords senior technician attended site with a fully equipped response vehicle and was immediately able to assess the incident.

Upon arrival our technician carried out a thorough survey of the property and found that the construction of the floors in the apartments could trap moisture from the incident leading to secondary damage.

Initial Concerns and Damage Limitation

The technician removed the wet and damaged carpets as soon as possible, to prevent any further damage to the flooring. Also trying to save the carpet so it can be cleaned and refitted rather than being left wet, which could result in the carpet being written off and having to be replaced. We also lifted the kitchens vinyl so save the cost of replacement. As this an uncommon kind of floor insulation, it would be a challenge, but one that we are capable of dealing with.

Standing water was extracted to prevent secondary damage from happening. The technician quickly installed state of the art dehumidifiers to reduce the humidity, followed by specialist injection drying. This technique is used to release trapped moisture and avoids the disruption and cost of removal of the insulation and screed.

Installation | Ground Floor Lounge and Kitchen

  • In both the Lounge and the Kitchen we Installed Kruger Air drying into the plasterboard to release any trapped moisture, once the walls had been dried we would then fill the holes in preparing them for redecoration.
  • Installing Kruger Air drying into the floating floor and filling of the holes once dry, to save the cost of replacement.
  • We also refitted the carpet and underlay once the building was dry and cleaned the carpet to save the cost of replacement.

First Floor Lounge and Kitchen

  • Unfortunately we were unable to save the Vinyl, Carpet.
  • In both the lounge and the kitchen we Installed Kruger Air injection drying system into the plasterboard to release any trapped moisture, once the walls had been dried we would then fill the holes in preparing them for redecoration.
  • Installing Kruger Air drying into the floating floor and filling of the holes once dry, to save the cost of replacement.
  • Removal of kitchen units/breakfast bar and bookcase. Lifting of existing chipboard floor plus two layers of plasterboard and insulation layer (approx 25sqm) and replace. Refit kitchen units, breakfast bar and bookcase.

Second Floor Bathroom

  • The floor had bowed therefore we had to remove the entire floor and replace it.

Conclusion

In total the drying project took 20 days. The quick response by the owner of the property in notifying the claim to their holiday home insurers resulted in Richfords being able to respond to this incident within hours.

The use of modern drying equipment and specialist injection drying resulted in a short project time scale and helped to keep the financial loss to a minimum. In addition the use of injection drying has reduced the possibility of trapped moisture causing further building issues in the future. All three of the holiday letting apartments were up and running again by the 25th May and occupied by paying guests.

Boshers offer specialist holiday home insurance to owners across the UK. For more information on how a specialist insurer can help and support your holiday home business, please give us a call on 01237 429444.

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