direct line home not insured shock

rosechrysanthemum

:mad: I've been using Direct Line Home Insurance for years with no claims.
I noticed a crack in my ceiling recently, and yesterday the plaster crashed down,for no apparent reason, other than I had moved a new bed into the room above.On phoning Direct Line, I was informed that they didn't cover
collapsing ceilings with no identifiable cause, such as in a leaking pipe etc.,
so I'm not covered. They also told me that they didn't cover lath and plaster ceilings anyway, which was a surprise as most Victorian houses have these.
I have since spoken to other insurance companies, and some told me that it would have been covered as standard with them, only one company said it wouldn't.
Nothing was mentioned about particular types of ceilings when I took out the policy 3 years ago, so I'm left with a potential bill of £450, and extreme stress.
Does anyone else know about this type of exclusion not mentioned in insurance policy documents, and is there anything I can do about it, as they are refusing to budge, even after telling them I'd take my insurance cover elsewhere.
Many thanks - Rose

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Home insurance covers you for damage caused by a set list of events or "perils". These include fire, flood, theft, subsidence and storm. It is also possible for you to extend the policy usually to include "accidental damage" which is damage caused by a sudden external means such as putting your foot through a ceiling or rainwater getting in and damaging your wallpaper (no, that is not a storm; storm is high winds).

Whenever you make a claim, you need to show that you have had damage (or loss) caused by one of these "perils". In your post, you have said that you noticed a crack and that the paster "crashed down, for no apparent reason". Unfortunately, "I have no idea what caused it" is not one of the perils that insurance companies will cover and I believe that on the basis of the information you have provided, their decision is correct.

Sorry that this is not better news.

Turning to the issue of lath and plaster, I do think that is strange. I have worked in the insurance industry for 20 years and never heard of a standard exclusion for this. I'm happy to be corrected if anyone else knows better.

raskazz

Sounds correct to me. Buildings insurance policies cover identifiable perils (eg fire, theft, storm and flood and so on), but your incident does not fall under the policy cover of most household policies. In any case, it sounds like the damage was as a result of a lack of maintenance or inherent flaws in the design/materials used in the roof, none of which is covered by a household insurance policy.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Great minds raskazz!!!

sjane2008

Call them up, grab their name refer to a manager! Insurance is about perils and therfore should be covered, yes you don't know what has caused it...however I would recommend getting a quote ie to see what did cause it if any then forward on to them. I can't see why that would be covered but if it isn't it would be in the policy wording. good luck xxx

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi sjane2008. I agree that insurance is about perils, but are you aware that a lath and plaster ceiling can collapse due to the loss of its key (the chemical bond in the plaster that holds it together)? This is the most common cause of collapse for L&P, rather than an insured peril.

Insurance is about making claims for events that are covered. Phoning your insurance company and saying "It's damage; you work it out" will get you nowhere.

The insured has the onus of proving that an insured peril has operated, not the insurer.

rosechrysanthemum

Thanks everyone - particularly for the bad news ! I've been to Citizens Advice who have told me to contact the FSO, but not holding out much hope now.
I do wonder though how many people like me are unaware that this wouldn't be covered, particularly the lath and plaster exclusion.But for the record, Barclays and Saga have both told me categorically that they would have paid up, Kwik Fit said no. So anyone with this kind of ceiling....beware !

tigtag02

Our lath & plaster ceiling was covered.

However ours caved in due to a leaky CH pipe.

Surely if you cant determine the cause or peril then it has to be down to wear and tear which wont be covered.

FlameCloud

rosechrysanthemum wrote: »

.But for the record, Barclays and Saga have both told me categorically that they would have paid up, Kwik Fit said no. So anyone with this kind of ceiling....beware !

Quite frankly, I dont believe you.

Firstly, no insurer would 'categorically' say anything over the phone when a policy isnt in force. Secondly, there isnt a buildings policy out there (to my knowledge) that covers wear and tear, which this is.

rosechrysanthemum

FlameCloud wrote: »

Quite frankly, I dont believe you.

Firstly, no insurer would 'categorically' say anything over the phone when a policy isnt in force. Secondly, there isnt a buildings policy out there (to my knowledge) that covers wear and tear, which this is.

I'm only repeating what I was told by these companies, who spoke to their underwriters when I posed the question. If you don't believe this then it's not me who is lying !!

Oscar_The_Grouch

Regardless of whether Saga or Barclays say they would cover you or not, it's academic as they don't insure you at the moment!!

With regard to the advice given to you by the CAB, ignore it. The Financial Ombudsman Service will not deal with any complaint made by a customer of an insurance company until either:

a. You have received a "final decision letter" from the insurance company having registered a complaint with them.

Or

b. You have registered a complaint with the insurer and not received a "final decision letter" within 8 weeks of the insurer receiving the complaint.

If you do try to lodge a complaint with the FOS, they will simply write a letter to your insurers saying you have complained direct to them and what the complaint was about. This is a pointless waste of their time and money and I wish the CAB would stop giving people the wrong information.

If you do not agree with the insurance company, you need to get some evidence to show that there was an insured peril operating otherwise you stand absolutely no chance of getting your claim accepted by either the insurance company or FOS.