Survey costs
An old insurance schedule mentions an excess. Is that excess the cost of the crack described in this survey?
No. The excess on an old schedule is not the cost of the crack described in this survey. An excess is a policy term about what the policyholder bears if a claim is made on that policy. This report described a crack. It did not price the crack, and it did not adopt the old excess as that price. Leave the schedule in the insurance papers. Do not paste its figure into the purchase talks as if it were the repair quote.
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?
Insurance documents answer a different question from a condition paragraph. They say how a policy would treat a claim, if a claim were made, under whatever wording and dates that policy had. A crack noted on a survey may never be an insured event, may be old movement the policy excludes, or may be something you simply repair without a claim. None of those outcomes is decided by copying the excess into the margin of the report. The surveyor was not adjusting a claim and has not certified that the excess equals the works.
If you want the cost of dealing with the crack, ask a contractor, and where the survey recommends it, an engineer, to look at this crack. Their figures are about the building. The excess is about an old contract of insurance. Do not add them, subtract them, or tell the seller the survey priced the crack at the excess. There is no RICS rule that an excess becomes a repair budget when a schedule happens to be in the bundle. Ask the solicitor which policies, if any, you are actually taking over. That is a legal question, not a rating.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Have you priced this crack anywhere in the report?
- What did you actually see, as distinct from any insurance paper?
- Would an engineer be the next step, rather than the old schedule?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the excess in the insurance file.
- Do not present it as the survey's repair cost.
- Get a contractor or engineer to look at this crack if you need a price.
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 large, is the crack a large repair?
Not necessarily. The excess is not a measurement of the crack. It is a policy term.
Does the survey say I should claim on the old policy?
No. The report describes condition. It does not tell you to make a claim or to adopt an excess.