Insurance Issues with Concrete Foundation Cracks and How to Navigate Them

[EthanMoore]

Hi everyone,

I'm dealing with an issue on a commercial project where we're seeing some cracks in the concrete foundation, and I'm trying to figure out how to handle the insurance side of things. The cracks aren't severe yet, but it's clear that they'll need repair, especially given the building's age and the current weather conditions. The issue is that the insurance company is dragging their feet on covering the repair costs.

Here's the situation: The building was insured under a policy that explicitly covers structural damage. I've documented the cracks with photos and videos, and we've even had an engineer take a look and confirm that it's not a settling issue but more likely a result of expanding and contracting due to temperature changes over time. Despite all of this, the insurer is hesitant to approve the claim because they claim it could be due to "normal wear and tear" or "pre-existing conditions" — neither of which seem to be accurate given the circumstances.

I'm looking for advice on how to approach this. Has anyone else had trouble with insurance companies denying or delaying claims for concrete foundation repairs? What's the best way to handle it, especially if the foundation is technically covered under the policy?

Also, if there's anyone with experience in dealing with concrete repairs in this context, I'd appreciate your thoughts. Should I get another third-party inspection or rely on the documentation I already have? Any tips on how to avoid the delays I'm experiencing?

 

[EthanMoore]

Hi everyone,

I'm dealing with an issue on a commercial project where we're seeing some cracks in the concrete foundation, and I'm trying to figure out how to handle the insurance side of things. The cracks aren't severe yet, but it's clear that they'll need repair, especially given the building's age and the current weather conditions. The issue is that the insurance company is dragging their feet on covering the repair costs.

Here's the situation: The building was insured under a policy that explicitly covers structural damage. I've documented the cracks with photos and videos, and we've even had an engineer take a look and confirm that it's not a settling issue but more likely a result of expanding and contracting due to temperature changes over time. Despite all of this, the insurer is hesitant to approve the claim because they claim it could be due to "normal wear and tear" or "pre-existing conditions" — neither of which seem to be accurate given the circumstances.

I'm looking for advice on how to approach this. Has anyone else had trouble with insurance companies denying or delaying claims for concrete foundation repairs? What's the best way to handle it, especially if the foundation is technically covered under the policy?

Also, if there's anyone with experience in dealing with concrete repairs in this context, I'd appreciate your thoughts. Should I get another third-party inspection or rely on the documentation I already have? Any tips on how to avoid the delays I'm experiencing? concretesrichmondva.com

I'm also curious if anyone has successfully worked with an insurance adjuster to get a concrete foundation repair claim approved. I know that many insurance companies can be tricky about structural issues, but I've heard of people getting them to approve it by showing a clear link between the damage and external factors like extreme weather. Any advice on how to word the claim or the type of evidence that worked for you would be great!

 

[marindependent]

This is a Commercial Building insured under a Commercial Property policy?

You mention a "project"- is this a Builders Risk Policy?

How Old is the Foundation? When was the last time work was done on it?

 

[Allen Trent]

what or who caused the crack?

Are you the concrete manufacturer that didnt mix the concrete correctly?

Are you the foundation contractor that didnt prep the area or install correctly?

Are you the property owner trying to file a claim on your own building because the foundation cracked for unknown reasons.?

So many questions & so many reasons I dont think this is going to end well

 

[LostDollar]

Hi everyone,

I'm dealing with an issue on a commercial project where we're seeing some cracks in the concrete foundation, and I'm trying to figure out how to handle the insurance side of things. The cracks aren't severe yet, but it's clear that they'll need repair, especially given the building's age and the current weather conditions. The issue is that the insurance company is dragging their feet on covering the repair costs.

Here's the situation: The building was insured under a policy that explicitly covers structural damage. I've documented the cracks with photos and videos, and we've even had an engineer take a look and confirm that it's not a settling issue but more likely a result of expanding and contracting due to temperature changes over time. Despite all of this, the insurer is hesitant to approve the claim because they claim it could be due to "normal wear and tear" or "pre-existing conditions" — neither of which seem to be accurate given the circumstances.

I'm looking for advice on how to approach this. Has anyone else had trouble with insurance companies denying or delaying claims for concrete foundation repairs? What's the best way to handle it, especially if the foundation is technically covered under the policy?

Also, if there's anyone with experience in dealing with concrete repairs in this context, I'd appreciate your thoughts. Should I get another third-party inspection or rely on the documentation I already have? Any tips on how to avoid the delays I'm experiencing?

we've even had an engineer take a look and confirm that it's not a settling issue but more likely a result of expanding and contracting due to temperature changes over time.

What does the policy say about expansion and contraction of the foundation material over time, OR, expansion, contraction, AND settling of the soil around the foundation over time.

Those sound like normal wear and tear to me.

Not a commercial building, but a residence, I am fixing to spend thousands of dollars replacing cracked and settled driveway, sidewalks and patio as well as doing foam uplift of garage floor with an 8-12" void under it. A good portion, if not all, of these problems were caused by very poor backfilling around the foundation and the slow settling of clay soil. I would suspect that something like poor backfilling of soil around the foundation by the builder would be considered a preexisting condition by an insurance company.

The foundation of my house had cracks within a week of pouring, probably from a combination of normal stress in long runs of concrete walls and poor compacting of soil and sand under the walls and basement floor. Again, an insurance carrier would probably consider that preexisting condition because the cracks were present prior to any residential use.

The cracking has gotten worse, and new cracks have showed up in the walls, and the basement floor is cracking badly. Probably from a combination of poor sand backfill under the basement floor, movement of clay soil outside the walls and under the basement floor and earth tremors caused by ground shiftings in Oklahoma from fracking wastewater disposal. I would guess that every house in my subdivision has these same problems to a greater or lesser degree and if there were foundation coverages in an insurance policy, I would expect to hear exactly what you are getting from your client's carrier in his situation.

Based on what I can remember from a family member's experience with repair of foundation issues in heavy clay soil some years ago, your client is probably looking at some combination of piers internal and external to the structure.

 

[LostDollar]

Caveat, not an insurance agent.

 

[LostDollar]

what or who caused the crack?

Are you the concrete manufacturer that didnt mix the concrete correctly?

Are you the foundation contractor that didnt prep the area or install correctly?

Are you the property owner trying to file a claim on your own building because the foundation cracked for unknown reasons.?

So many questions & so many reasons I dont think this is going to end well

Depends on who you are talking about.

Probably ends well for the insurance carrier. Probably does not end well for the building owner. (Assuming ending well means payment of a concrete claim.)

 

[LostDollar]

Further comment re repairs.

After house was placed on foundation with the initial cracks, I complained to the builder about water leaks when it rained. (And at that time, all foundation water collection and drains to the sump pump were working correctly.)

His crew came in and painted over cracks from the inside of the wall with some kind of slightly elastic sealer material.

 

[SF_Anon]

Worked in P&C for 10+ years, saw a single occurrence of foundation issues being covered - a tree had been struck by lighting, and the trunk hit the side of the house and cracked the foundation. Engineers came out and confirmed it wasn't pre-existing.

Realistically, it comes down to whether or not it meets the criteria of 'sudden and accidental', and what you are describing...does not.