Four actions that claims professionals should take when dealing with subsidence cover are outlined in a new CII good practice guide.
The Society of Claims Professionals' (SoCP) Good Practice Guide for Subsidence states:
1. Each claim and request for cover must be treated individually.
2. The potential risk or cause of subsidence should be established to action an effective triage routine.
3. What other cover is available if subsidence is only one reason for damage should be identified.
4. Timing for action should be made clear -- for example, policyholders should be warned that underpinning a property will take at least two years.
The six-page guide also highlights other material on subsidence produced by the insurance profession, which underwriters and claims professionals should be aware of.
Jeremy Trott, non-executive director of the SoCP, said: "Customer expectation of how quickly a claim will be resolved can sometimes be out of sync with the reality of investigating the claim.
"Try to be clear with your customer about the different processes involved and reasonable timeframes for each stage of that process. Managing expectations will allow you the time needed to process the claim properly, as well as reassuring the customer."