House insurance?
Question:House insurance?
I moved into a property about 8 months ago and it wasn't until last week that i was up in my loft and discovered that the roof is in a very bad state of repair.
Some of the slate batons are rotted almost right through and the slates are slipping all the time.
My question is;Can i ask my house insurance company to come and have a look at it and could i put a claim in to get it repaired?
I did get a survey done on the house,but it was only the basic one as i couldn't afford the full one at the time.
So even though this damage hasn't occurred in th form of an accident, what do you think they will say?
Answers:
Sorry, but your buildings insurers will reject this damage as both pre-existing (ie the damage pre-dates your policy) and wear & tear. Your policy covers you against specific perils, such as fire, flood,storm etc. Rotting of the slate battens is a "gradually operating cause", and is not covered by your policy. Unfortunately you will have no recourse against the surveyor who originally inspected the house, as it sounds like you only had a valuation survey done, which is basically just to ascertain that the property is worth the asking price; it doesn't cover roof void inspections,floor void inspections,wall tie inspections etc, as these surveys are much more expensive and time consuming.
You will need to have the roof stripped off and refelted and battened and you might as well have the slates replaced at the same time, as stripping off the slates for re-use usually carries about a 40-50% breakage rate. For a terraced house the usual cost of this would be around £5000-6000 inclusive; London would be around 20% more.
Generally, if the damage was existing when you purchased this house (which seems likely) it is doubtful that you have a claim.
If the roof has deteriorated due to age, and not as a result of catastrophe it is also doubtful that you have a claim.
But, there is no real harm in have an adjuster come out and take a look. The worst they can do is say no.
to be honest i dont think they will pay for any repairs,unless the damage was caused by severe weather etc.hope you can,you have to give it a try.good luck.
Remember that insurers are people too. Of course an insurance company exists to make money, but they are also passionate about making sure their customers are okay. Phone them, I'm sure they will tell you just what you want to hear.
they will tell you you should have had a full survey done and your insurance doesn't cover it
No, insurance only covers damage which occurred after you purchased the policy. And even then, it would only cover it if it was named in the policy. I've never seen coverage for disrepair.
If you just purchased the house, you might have an action against the seller for failure to disclose the condition of the roof.
You have to pick up the phone and ask, nothing to lose.
No, they will reject the claim. 100% definately. seen this exact thing before.
This falls into general wear and tear. The roof is at the end of its useful life.
you'll need to rip it off, re-felt and batten. Using the existing slates depends on how solid they are and if you can get matching ones. Spanish slate is a good & cheaper alternative to Welsh, £2 vs £5.50. Chinese slate is like paper - keep away.
Seems like a big expensive job but its not - couple of £K
Your insurers won't help, I'm afraid, and asking them would be a waste of time. It would be like buying a secondhand car, insuring it fully comp, and then asking the insurers to pay when you found that the wings were rusting through from the inside.
The insurance covers you against one-off events which cause damage, like fire and storm, not for gradual deterioration which brings on the need for maintenance and repairs.
Your house insurance company will not be interested in the damage as it appears to be pre-existing and the damage is not caused by an 'insured peril'.
I would also advise you to get the work repaired as quickly as possible as you are currently in breach of your policy conditions (keeping property in a good state of repair) and if the roof springs a leak in the forecast heavy rain then the subsequant damage may not be covered.
(With current house prices, assuming you could afford to buy the house how could you afford not to have a survey? Why would you make the largest single investment that you ever will without checking what you were buying? I just hope that the cost of the lesson is not too high!)
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