Before you pay for extraction, check whether someone else should
Most cavity insulation fitted by registered installers since 1995 came with a 25-year guarantee from CIGA, the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency. If the insulation is at fault, the repair is meant to be free. It’s the cheapest answer on this whole site, and the one nobody selling extraction will mention.
What a CIGA guarantee gives you
| How long it lasts | 25 years from the date the insulation went in. Any claim has to reach CIGA within those 25 years. |
|---|---|
| What it costs you | Nothing. CIGA says remedial work is carried out free of charge under the terms of the guarantee. |
| The limit | CIGA says the maximum value of rectification work is currently £20,000. |
| If you bought the house | It still counts. The guarantee stays valid for later owners and occupiers. |
| If the installer went bust | CIGA deals with it directly. |
| If you’ve lost the paperwork | CIGA only needs the address and postcode to search its records. A duplicate certificate, if you want one for a sale, is £60 including VAT. |
| What voids it | CIGA says the guarantee isn’t valid if the insulation has been altered or disturbed. Poor building work afterwards can void it too. |
Sources: ciga.co.uk/guarantee-holders, ciga.co.uk/consumer-concerns, ciga.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions. Read October 2026. Your own certificate’s terms are what count.
Don’t let anyone extract the insulation, or start drilling, before you’ve asked CIGA. If the insulation has been disturbed, you may have just paid thousands to cancel your own free repair. It’s the most expensive way to save a phone call.
Who’s likely to have a guarantee, and who isn’t
Not everyone with cavity insulation has a CIGA guarantee. Here’s roughly how it splits.
Fitted 1995 onwards by a registered installer
This is CIGA’s core. Most installs by registered firms from 1995 came with a guarantee as standard.
Fitted since 2012
Some later installs, including ones under energy-company schemes, were guaranteed by other providers. CIGA names Enterprise ECO, IWA ECO and Qualitymark Protection. If CIGA has no record, ask them.
Fitted 1995–2012 with no guarantee issued
If the installer never applied for one at the time, CIGA says it no longer issues retrospective guarantees for that period.
Fitted before 1995, or DIY, or by an unregistered firm
No CIGA cover. You may still have rights against the installer under consumer law, but that’s a conversation for Citizens Advice or a solicitor, not a claims firm on the phone. Your free options »
Five steps, with CIGA’s own deadlines
CIGA publishes performance standards for how quickly it should act. Write them on the fridge. If a stage runs late, you can say so, politely and in writing.
Rule out the obvious causes first
CIGA’s own advice is to check for things like blocked or leaking gutters and soil piled up against the wall above the damp course. If one of those is causing it, the guarantee won’t pay, and the fix is cheap anyway. The usual suspects »
Contact the installer
Their name is on the guarantee. CIGA says the installer should contact you within 24 hours to arrange an inspection. If they haven’t sorted it to your satisfaction within 41 working days, go to CIGA. If the installer has stopped trading, skip straight to step 3.
Tell CIGA
Use the online form at ciga.co.uk/register-a-concern, email [email protected], or ring 01525 853300. You only need the address and postcode. Describe the problem, what you’ve done so far, and attach photos. CIGA should acknowledge it within 2 working days.
Let them inspect
CIGA should contact you within 5 working days to arrange an inspection, and send you the inspection report and proposed works within 27 working days. Let them in. CIGA warns that a claim can be rejected if it’s prevented from investigating and the problem gets worse.
The repair, or the argument
CIGA’s target is 50 working days to finish simple repairs and 90 for complex ones. If you don’t accept its decision, there’s independent arbitration run by CEDR, and the result is binding on both sides.
Timescales from CIGA’s performance standards at ciga.co.uk/consumer-concerns, read October 2026. They’re CIGA’s targets, counted in working days from when it receives your concern.
The CIGA clock
| Stage | CIGA’s target |
|---|---|
| Installer contacts you | Within 24 hours |
| Installer has to have sorted it, or you go to CIGA | 41 working days |
| CIGA acknowledges your concern | 2 working days |
| CIGA arranges an inspection | 5 working days |
| Inspection report and proposed works | 27 working days |
| Repair finished, simple case | 50 working days |
| Repair finished, complex case | 90 working days |
| Arbitration award put into action | 5 working days after the decision |
A letter you can copy
Short, factual, and it puts the dates on record. Send it to the installer first, or to CIGA if the installer has gone. Swap the bits in square brackets.
[Your name]
[Address and postcode]
[Date]
Dear [installer name / CIGA],
Cavity wall insulation at [address and postcode]. Guarantee number: [number, or “not to hand”].
Cavity wall insulation was installed at this property in about [year]. Since [month and year], we have had [damp patches / mould / cold walls] on the [which walls and rooms]. It is worse after [rain / wind from the west / no pattern]. Photos are attached.
We have checked the gutters, downpipes and the ground level against the walls, and [found nothing wrong / had the following fixed: …]. The problem continues.
Please arrange an inspection under the terms of the guarantee. Nobody has removed or disturbed the insulation.
I can be reached on [phone] or [email].
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
Cavity wall insulation guarantees: common questions
How do I find out if my house has a CIGA guarantee?
Ask CIGA. For a concern, it only needs the property’s address and postcode to search its database. If you want written confirmation of cover or a duplicate certificate, for a sale for example, email [email protected]. That needs proof you own the house, including a current utility bill, and a duplicate costs £60.
I bought the house second-hand. Am I still covered?
Yes, if a guarantee was issued. CIGA says it stays valid for subsequent owners and occupiers.
Does the guarantee pay for extraction?
It pays for the remedial work CIGA’s inspection says is needed, up to its limit. That might be extraction, or it might be something smaller. The inspection decides, not the first firm that quotes you.
A company says they’ll handle my CIGA claim for me. Should I let them?
You can claim yourself, for free, with the letter above. CIGA and Trading Standards urge people to think very carefully before using a claims company. More on claims firms »
CIGA said no. What now?
Ask for the decision and the inspection report in writing. If you disagree, you can take it to independent arbitration through CEDR. If you weren’t covered by CIGA at all, Citizens Advice can tell you what rights you have against the installer.
Will CIGA ring me or turn up unannounced?
No. CIGA says it doesn’t make cold calls and doesn’t visit without arranging it first. Anyone who rings claiming to be “from the guarantee people” deserves suspicion.