AXA
Watchdog heard from some AXA insurance customers who – after submitting subsidence claims to the company – have faced delays in communication and repair works.
One of these customers was Caron, who first notified AXA of a crack in her barn wall in November 2021.
The following month, AXA’s loss adjusters visited the property and produced a report, which classified the damage to Caron’s wall as “very severe”.
Caron raised a complaint to both AXA and the Financial Ombudsman Service, and was awarded compensation for the delays.
AXA began preliminary work and monitoring over a year after Caron’s initial claim was filed, but then in July 2023, the barn wall collapsed.
The day after the collapse, AXA’s contractors secured the wall, but after that – no further repair work was carried out.
Another AXA customer that Watchdog heard from was Bernie, who noticed signs of subsidence in her conservatory in October 2018.
AXA accepted Bernie’s claim of subsidence in early 2019, and set a target completion date of December 2020.
Bernie raised a formal complaint with AXA, who awarded her some compensation, but she told Watchdog that she just wanted to have her conservatory repaired.
In May 2023, work was carried out to knock down the majority of Bernie’s conservatory, and in July 2023, the work stopped while the contractors waited for AXA to approve an updated budget – leaving Bernie with no conservatory.
Watchdog showed Caron’s barn wall and photos of Bernie’s conservatory to chartered building surveyor, Tim Davies – who told Watchdog that these cases show examples of poor service.
He told Watchdog that Caron’s case would be a very urgent case, in his opinion, and that both cases should have been dealt with more urgently.
An AXA spokesperson told Watchdog:
“We are sorry for the delays and inconvenience these customers have experienced, however, subsidence claims are often complex, involve various external factors such as liaising with local authorities and affected neighbours, and require monitoring over an extended period to ensure any repairs or work to deal with the source of the issue provide a long-term solution for our customers.
“These two claims are particularly complex as they have involved engagement with numerous third parties and each has required a considerable amount of on-site investigation and monitoring to assess the precise cause of subsidence. We do acknowledge that there have been some avoidable delays and service issues and we have provided compensation to both customers in recognition of this.
“We and our subcontractors are in regular contact with both customers and we are doing all we can to solve their particular subsidence issues and complete any repair work required as soon as possible.”
