The short answer
If the company that fitted your cavity wall insulation has gone out of business, you are not left without recourse. The CIGA guarantee was created for exactly this — it is independent of the installer, so if the work carries a CIGA guarantee, CIGA still stands behind it for the full 25 years and will investigate the defect and arrange or fund remedial work. You make the claim to CIGA directly rather than chasing a company that no longer exists. If the work was paid for using a credit or finance agreement, you may also have a claim against the finance provider under the Consumer Credit Act. The installer's insolvency removes one route but the guarantee and finance routes remain open.
An insolvent installer is the classic case the guarantee scheme was designed to cover. The routes below show where to turn instead.
When the installer has closed
- Primary routeCIGA guarantee
- Guarantee length25 years, installer-independent
- Paid on creditclaim vs finance provider
- Claim toCIGA, not the closed company
- No guaranteeharder; finance / surveyor routes
Why the CIGA guarantee still works
The whole point of CIGA is that the guarantee does not depend on the installer surviving. Cavity wall insulation is expected to last decades, and individual installers come and go, so the industry set up an independent body to stand behind the work. When a CIGA-registered installer fits insulation, the job is registered with CIGA and a guarantee is issued against the property's address. If that installer later ceases trading, becomes insolvent or dissolves, the guarantee remains valid and CIGA takes over responsibility for investigating and remedying genuine defects. You simply claim against CIGA instead of the company.
This is worth emphasising because the instinct on discovering that an installer has closed is to assume the trail has gone cold. With many home-improvement guarantees that would be true — they are only as durable as the firm that issued them. The CIGA scheme was created specifically to break that link, so that the value of the guarantee survives the company. From the homeowner's point of view, an installer going bust changes who you contact, but not whether you are protected: the guarantee number, or simply your property address, still gives CIGA everything it needs to pick the matter up.
How to claim when the installer has gone
The steps are much the same as a normal CIGA claim, minus the installer:
- Contact CIGA with your guarantee number or property address and describe the problem.
- Confirm the installer's status — CIGA will recognise that the company has ceased trading and proceed without it.
- Inspection — CIGA arranges an assessment of the defect, often using damp readings and a borescope.
- Remedy — if a defect is confirmed, CIGA arranges or funds the repair, which may include extracting the fill.
| Route | Available when | Claim against |
|---|---|---|
| CIGA guarantee | work is CIGA-registered | CIGA |
| Finance provider | paid on credit | lender (CCA) |
| Surveyor / others | negligent survey | the surveyor |
| Insolvency claim | rarely worthwhile | administrator |
Indicative routes for guidance. Sources: CIGA; Citizens Advice.
If the work was bought on finance
Where you paid for the insulation using a credit agreement — including some grant-linked or pay-monthly schemes — section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the finance provider jointly liable with the installer for a breach of contract or misrepresentation, within the qualifying limits. That route is useful precisely because it survives the installer's insolvency: the lender remains in business even if the contractor does not. You would raise a complaint with the finance provider, and if it is not resolved you can take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge. This sits alongside, not instead of, any CIGA claim.
If there is no CIGA guarantee at all
The harder situation is an installer who has gone bust and no CIGA guarantee. Pursuing a dissolved or insolvent company directly is rarely worthwhile, as there are usually no assets to claim against. Your realistic options then are the finance provider if you paid on credit, or a claim against any surveyor or third party who was separately negligent — for example a homebuyer's surveyor who missed an obvious problem. These depend on the specific facts and on time limits under the Limitation Act. An independent survey identifying the defect and its cause is the starting point for any of them.
It is also worth remembering that an installer ceasing to trade does not erase the fact that the work was defective; it only removes one of the parties you could have pursued. The defect, the damage and the evidence remain exactly as they were. What changes is the practical strategy — shifting attention from a company that no longer exists to the guarantee that was designed to outlast it, and to any finance or professional party who remains in business. Framing it that way avoids the trap of assuming the loss must simply be absorbed because the original firm has gone.
Before concluding that you fall into this harder category, it is worth checking properly rather than assuming. Many homeowners believe they have no guarantee simply because they never received or have since lost the paperwork, when in fact a guarantee was registered against the address and can be confirmed by CIGA. Equally, work bought through an energy-efficiency scheme or on a pay-monthly arrangement may carry finance protection you have forgotten about. Establishing exactly what cover exists — guarantee, finance, or a separate professional involved in the original work — is the sensible first step before deciding that direct routes are all that remain.
Frequently asked questions
Does my guarantee become worthless if the installer goes bust?
No. The CIGA guarantee is independent of the installer and remains valid for its full 25-year term. CIGA takes over responsibility for investigating and remedying genuine defects when the original company has ceased trading.
How do I claim against CIGA if the installer no longer exists?
Contact CIGA directly with your guarantee number or property address. They recognise that the installer has closed and proceed with their own inspection and, where a defect is confirmed, arrange or fund the remedial work.
Can I claim against the finance company that funded the work?
Possibly, if you paid using a regulated credit agreement. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the lender jointly liable for breach of contract or misrepresentation, and you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service if needed.
Sources & further reading
Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific property. They are guidance, not a quotation.