Our buildings insurers have refused to cover the cost of underpinning an extension to our house which is showing signs of subsidence. They say the extension, which was put up ten years ago, was built on soft ground. But the builders’ work was checked by the council inspector, and the concrete footings were only poured when the ground was considered firm enough.
As long as the builders followed building regulations and the concrete was the right mix you may be able to force your insurers to pay out. Discuss with them the possibility of bringing in an independent surveyor to assess the adequacy of the foundations. You may find it helpful to contact the financial ombudsman service “consumer line” on 0800 0234567 initially for help on resolving your dispute. If it was a bodged job you could claim against the builder.