My elderly parents purchased a property and took out buildings insurance through Home Protect in July 2013. During a claim process in December that year, Home Protect stated that the previous owners had made a claim for subsidence in 2008 which another insurer had declined following a report from a loss adjuster that confirmed there was no subsidence damage.
Home Protect placed an endorsement on my parents’ policy excluding subsidence, landslip and heave. They were told a structural engineer’s report would be required for the endorsement to be removed. In May, my father was told that the policy was being cancelled because he had not agreed to an extra premium of £400. This was apparently due to the fact he had not reported subsidence issues when applying for the policy.
The fact there are no subsidence issues and that he was unaware of any previous claim, counted for nothing. AM, London
Avantia, parent company of Home Protect, evasively blames “a breakdown in clear communication from us”. It has apologised, reinstated the policy and waived the additional premium and congratulates itself on “responding to your parents’ needs”, although it required media intervention.
•This article was amended on 20 November to make it clear that a claim for subsidence was made in 2008 to another insurer, not Home Protect and further amended on 3 December 2014 to correct a reference to a loss adjuster’s report.
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