Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) and foundation damage

Separate the cause from the damage pattern

Cracks above window sills, sticking doors and a sloping floor are symptoms, not causes. Where a property on strip foundations settles through drought, there is no cover; with the same cracks after a burst pipe there may be. So always ask the assessor for a finding on the mechanism and not only on the repair. Without an identified sudden event there is nothing to hang the claim on, however large the damage.

Record the baseline before the neighbours start

If demolition, piling or dewatering is taking place next door, have a structural pre-condition survey carried out beforehand, with crack-width measurements, photographs and levelling. That report is later your only means of showing that the damage is new. A contractor facing a claim under Article 6:162 DCC almost always argues that the property was already out of true. Also report the damage itself in good time; Article 7:941 DCC requires you to report it as soon as you are aware of it.

A known defect in the foundations must be declared

If you know of a foundation survey, a repair plan or an enforcement letter from the local authority, that falls under the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code. Withholding it gives grounds for reliance on Article 7:930 DCC on a later claim, and that affects not only the foundations but possibly the whole policy. A pre-purchase survey mentioning pile rot counts too. Declare it when you apply, even where the repair has not yet been carried out.

What falls away even on an all-risks policy

Repair of the foundations themselves, underpinning or installing a new foundation beam is not eligible for payment. The same applies to a fall in the value of the home, to damage from deferred maintenance to the crawl space and to rising groundwater or flooding from open water. Additional costs such as temporary accommodation are only paid where the underlying damage is covered, and with repairs to foundations that is precisely not the case.

Some insurers offer a module

The choice is limited and strict conditions and waiting periods apply. We find out whether that is possible in your region and for your type of foundation.

A guarantee against underinsurance is not automatic

If you fill in the insurer's rebuild value calculator correctly, you will usually receive a guarantee against underinsurance: in the event of a claim the actual amount is paid, even if the sum insured turns out to be too low. Your policy schedule states whether you have that guarantee. Without it, the proportionality rule applies, and that also affects small claims.

Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)