Commercial Subsidence Claims
Commercial Subsidence Insurance Claim Ireland
Cracks spreading across your walls, doors that no longer close, floors beginning to slope: subsidence is slow, technical and easy for an insurer to dispute. We manage the engineering, the monitoring and the negotiation so your claim keeps moving toward a full and fair settlement.
CBI Regulated · No Win, No Fee · Trevor Kelly MSCSI MRICS
What Subsidence Is
Subsidence, heave and landslip explained in plain terms
Subsidence is the downward movement of the ground beneath your building, which causes the foundations to sink unevenly. As the ground shifts, the structure above is dragged with it, producing the tell-tale signs: diagonal cracking, sticking doors and windows, and gaps opening between walls and floors. It is one of the most technically complex losses a business can face.
Most commercial property policies cover three related forms of ground movement: subsidence is the sinking of foundations; heave is the opposite, where the ground swells and pushes the structure upward; and landslip is the sideways movement of ground down a slope. Cover is common, but the wording, the excess and the conditions attached to a subsidence claim are rarely straightforward, which is exactly where disputes begin.
- Subsidence foundations sink as the ground gives way beneath them
- Heave the ground expands and lifts the structure
- Landslip ground moves laterally down a slope or incline
- Policy wording we read it carefully so cover is applied correctly
Engineering & Monitoring
Why engineering and monitoring reports decide the outcome
No subsidence claim is settled on appearance alone. The insurer will want to establish the cause of the movement, whether it is ongoing, and what scope of repair is genuinely required. That means structural engineering investigation: trial pits to inspect the foundations, soil sampling, drain surveys, and a careful assessment of nearby trees and their root systems.
Crucially, insurers almost always require a period of monitoring, where crack widths and building levels are measured over time to confirm whether movement is active or has stabilised. These reports are the evidence on which everything turns. When they are commissioned properly, interpreted correctly and challenged where needed, the claim has a sound technical foundation. We make sure the right investigations happen and that the findings are used to advance your interests, not simply to justify a smaller payout.
- Cause investigation trial pits, soil tests and drain surveys
- Movement monitoring crack and level readings over time
- Report scrutiny findings reviewed and challenged where they fall short
- Surveying expertise chartered building surveyors interpreting the evidence
How It Works
From first crack to full settlement
A clear, four-stage approach that keeps a complex subsidence claim on track from the day you call us.
We attend your premises, inspect the cracking and movement, review your policy, and tell you honestly where you stand. No cost, no obligation.
We arrange the engineering investigation and monitoring needed to evidence cause and extent, then keep that process on a sensible timeline.
We prepare the full repair and reinstatement scope, present it to the insurer, and negotiate firmly on the technical detail on your behalf.
We work toward the best possible settlement so your building is properly stabilised, repaired and restored. Our fee is a percentage of what we recover.
What A Subsidence Claim Involves
The technical ground we cover for you
A commercial subsidence claim is rarely a single piece of work. It is a sequence of investigations, reports and scope decisions, each of which the insurer can question. We manage every stage so the claim stays evidenced and moving, from establishing the cause through to the final reinstatement of your premises.
- Investigation & monitoring establishing cause and tracking movement on solid evidence
- Engineering reports commissioned, reviewed and reflected in what the insurer pays
- Underpinning & repair scope complete and appropriate, not trimmed to the cheapest option
- Drains & trees causation common triggers addressed head on so cover is not wrongly refused
Delay & Scope Disputes
Keeping a subsidence claim moving
Subsidence claims have a reputation for dragging on, and there are structural reasons for that. The insurer appoints a loss adjuster whose role is to protect the insurer’s position. Long monitoring periods are often justified on technical grounds, yet they also delay settlement. Disputes over cause, such as whether movement is from subsidence or from an excluded factor, can stall a claim for months. So can disagreements over the scope of reinstatement.
None of this is personal: the adjuster is doing a job for the party that pays them. The point is that you need someone of equal technical standing on your side of the table. We hold monitoring to reasonable timeframes, meet cause and exclusion arguments with evidence, and insist that the agreed repair scope actually restores your building. This is also where business interruption losses matter: prolonged works can disrupt trading, and that part of the claim deserves equal attention. It sits alongside the wider commercial property claim we prepare and negotiate for you.
- Monitoring discipline we keep periods reasonable and on schedule
- Cause disputes exclusion arguments met with technical evidence
- Scope protection reinstatement that restores, not the cheapest fix
- One point of contact we handle the adjuster so you can run your business
across Ireland since 2009
Central Bank of Ireland regulated. RICS/SCSI accredited. No win, no fee.
Client Feedback
Trusted by business owners across Ireland
The cracking in our warehouse had us terrified the whole building was going. They organised the engineer, ran the monitoring and kept the insurer from stalling. The settlement covered proper underpinning, not the patch-up the adjuster first suggested.
Our insurer wanted to blame the cracks on nearby trees and decline the claim. The team met that argument with evidence and got it overturned. A long, technical process made far less stressful because someone who understood it was on our side.
Common Questions
Your questions, answered
We work on a no win, no fee basis. Our fee is a percentage of the settlement we recover for you, agreed in advance and in writing before any work begins. There is nothing to pay up front, and if there is no recovery, there is no fee.
Subsidence is the downward movement of the ground beneath your building, causing the foundations to sink unevenly. Tell-tale signs are diagonal cracking, doors and windows that stick, and gaps opening between walls and floors. Many small cracks are cosmetic, so the first job is establishing, through proper investigation, whether genuine ground movement is the cause.
Take dated photographs of every crack, note when doors or windows started sticking, and avoid any major repairs that could disturb the evidence. Then call us for a free site visit. We will inspect the movement, review your policy and tell you honestly where you stand before you commit to anything.
Timeframes vary with complexity. Insurers almost always require a period of monitoring, where crack widths and building levels are measured over time to confirm whether movement is active or has stabilised, and that period is one of the main reasons these claims run on. We keep monitoring to reasonable timeframes, chase the reports, and pursue interim payments where possible so the claim keeps moving. We cannot guarantee a fixed timeline or a particular outcome.
Cause and exclusion disputes are common in subsidence claims, and they are often where cover is wrongly refused. We make sure the right engineering investigation is carried out, scrutinise the reports, and meet exclusion arguments with technical evidence rather than letting them go unchallenged. The engineering findings are the ground on which these disputes are won or lost.
Yes. We manage the claim end to end: arranging the engineering investigation and monitoring, preparing the full repair and reinstatement scope, and negotiating with the insurer’s loss adjuster on your behalf. You get one point of contact and can keep running your business while we handle the technical detail.
Yes. We can review a claim that is already under way, including one where the insurer has made an offer or proposed a limited repair scope. We will assess whether the cause and scope have been properly evidenced and advise you on where you stand before you accept anything.
We act for businesses across Ireland nationwide. We are based at Golf Road, Rush, Co. Dublin, and regularly attend commercial premises throughout the country for site visits and assessments.
Worried the cracks are getting worse?
Talk to us before the insurer sets the pace
Get a free assessment of your commercial subsidence claim from a regulated firm that works only for you. Free, no obligation, and no win, no fee. Reg. No: C423441.
