New builds and warranties
Customer care has sent a ticket number for a cracked tile. Does that ticket number open the insurance section of a 10-year new-build policy?
No. A customer-care ticket number for a cracked tile is a builder's logging reference. It does not open the insurance section of a 10-year policy. NHBC describes Buildmark as warranty and insurance together: the builder is liable in the first two years and NHBC guarantees that obligation, while the following eight years insure damage from defects in specific parts only. A ticket is not automatically a claim under either part.
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?
Customer-care desks exist to log snags for the builder: cracked tiles, sticking doors, missing mastic. They send a number so you can chase. That number shows the builder has a record. It does not show that NHBC, or any other insurer, has opened a file, accepted damage, or agreed a part is one of the specific parts insured after the builder period. A customer-care ticket is not automatically an insurance claim. If this policy is not Buildmark, the same caution applies with even more force, because another provider is not Buildmark and may not use NHBC's sections at all.
Keep the ticket, reply on it, and read the policy for how a real claim is notified if you believe the tile is more than a snag. Do not quote the ticket to a lender as if it were acceptance of cover. The survey, if it mentions the tile, is describing condition. It is not the ticket and it is not the claim. This page also does not state a minimum sum that would turn a tile into an insured loss. Read the wording you were given rather than inventing a threshold.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- If you saw the cracked tile, are you logging a claim or describing a tile?
- Is a customer-care number outside the insurance section?
- Will you avoid naming a minimum claim value?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the ticket as a builder's reference and chase it as that.
- Read the policy before you call the same number an insurance claim.
- Do not quote the ticket to a lender as accepted cover.
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 customer care promises to replace the tile, is that the insurer paying?
Not necessarily. The builder putting a snag right is the builder's job. It is not automatically the insurance section.
Does Buildmark cover every cracked tile in years three to ten?
No. Those years insure damage from defects in specific parts only, not every snag.