Subsidence, settlement and heave
An insurer's letter says a subsidence claim was closed, and the crack is still open. Why does the closed file not close the crack?
Because the crack is still open, a closed subsidence file does not close the crack. The insurer's letter records what happened to the claim file. The survey records the crack it could see, and that crack has not shut because a file was marked closed. Closing a claim is not the same as repairing the wall, and it is not the same as the movement having stopped. The letter and the crack are two records. Only one of them is the 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?
A closed file can mean many administrative things. The survey does not reinterpret the insurer's reasons, and it should not be asked to. What the inspection can say is whether the crack is open, where it runs, and how it looked on the day. If the letter says the claim was closed and the photograph shows the crack still open, both can be true. Do not cross out the crack in the survey. The wall has not read the letter.
Give the solicitor the letter and the survey page together. Ask the insurer, if you need their position, what 'closed' meant, without pretending the survey has answered that. If the survey recommends further investigation of the crack, the closed file does not cancel the recommendation. Association of British Insurers material on subsidence is about insurance, not a filler for the open joint. The crack stays open in the report until the building shows otherwise.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Is the crack you saw still open, whatever the letter says about the file?
- Did you read the insurer's letter as a repair, or not read it as one?
- What investigation, if any, does the open crack still need?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the closed-claim letter and the open crack as separate facts.
- Do not cross the crack off because the file was closed.
- Ask the solicitor to hold both papers, without merging them.
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 letter says repairs were finished, has the crack closed?
Not unless the crack has actually closed. A sentence about finished repairs does not shut a crack the survey still found open.
Does a closed claim mean the insurer accepts the wall is stable?
No. The survey has not been told the wall is stable by a closed file. Stability is not declared by the word closed on the letter.