Subsidence, settlement and heave
You have seen that home policies often describe a subsidence excess. Why is that excess not a builder's price for the crack in this report?
That excess is not a builder's price for the crack in this report. You have seen that home policies often describe a subsidence excess. An excess is a policy feature about a claim, if a claim is made and if the policy responds. The survey has described a crack. It has not asked a builder to price it, and it has not converted a policy term into the cost of the work on this wall.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
People mix the two because both feel like money. The policy wording, where it mentions subsidence, is about insurance. The report wording is about condition and about what still needs a proper look. Neither document is a builder standing in front of this crack and pricing a specification. Association of British Insurers comment on how policies treat subsidence is not a quotation. No repair price should be invented to fill the gap.
Read the policy with a broker if you need to know whether an excess would apply to a claim. Separately, if the crack is to be repaired, get a specification and a builder's price for that specification. Tell the solicitor the survey has not provided either figure. Do not write the excess into the report as if it were the quote. The crack and the policy remain different subjects.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Why is a subsidence excess not a builder's price for this crack?
- Has the survey left the repair unpriced?
- Are the policy and the crack being kept in different documents?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not use a policy excess as the quote for this crack.
- Get a builder's price only after the repair is specified.
- Keep the insurance wording out of the survey findings.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the excess is described as large, is that the repair?
No. Large or small, an excess is still a policy term, and this note gives it no figure. It is not a builder's price for the crack in the report. The survey has not priced the work. Policy language is not a quote.
Does the report have to name the insurer's excess?
No. The survey describes the crack. Your policy, if you have one, is read elsewhere. The excess is not a quote, and the report does not become a policy schedule by mentioning subsidence. The schedule is a different paper entirely.