LV= insurance is ignoring us while our house literally falls apart

LV= General Insurance is forcing a family with three young children to live in a collapsing home because of cost-cutting and delays.

We lodged a claim for subsidence damage to our extension and conservatory in 2023. Instead of authorising the repairs recommended by independent experts, LV= has spent years stalling and proposing inadequate, superficial patching methods.

Three years on, significant cracking in the interior walls has caused a radiator to shear away. We have provided proof to LV= but are being ignored while our home literally falls apart around us.

Meanwhile, the company has hiked our annual premium from £400 to £2,500. I feel they are penalising us for a claim.

KT, London

Subsidence claims are soaring as repeated droughts cause soil to shrink. Nearby trees accelerate the problem, and you have, on LV=’s advice, had several removed, but to no avail.

An independent surveyor, commissioned by you in May – when you had reached an impasse with the company – concluded that the damaged extension needed underpinning or rebuilding. There was no obvious progress in the case, however.

LV= now tells me that it obtained a quote for underpinning last February, although the work wasn’t carried out. It has since acknowledged that the cracks have worsened and a full rebuild is required.

It says repairs will begin as soon as the designs and council bureaucracy are complete. The company blames the subsidence and the delay on an eucalyptus tree owned by a neighbour who refuses to remove it.

A spokesperson said: “LV= General Insurance takes this claim extremely seriously and we understand and appreciate the frustration at the time it has taken to resolve it. Subsidence claims can be protracted because the most important step is to address the cause of movement, in this case tree removal, before permanent repairs can be undertaken.”

LV= says it is reviewing your premium price rise under its complaints procedure.

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