home insurance wont pay up

sp275

Can anybody help please, we recently had water coming in through our ceiling so we called Direct Line who instructed an engineer to assess our problem. After taking our bath panel off 2 check for leaks ( which there wasnt) he then advised us that he neede to cut a hole in our ceiling to check the pipes. There was no obvoius leak so we were told it was coming through our flat roof which is approx 12yrs old, because of this Direct Line said we are not coverd and wont pay out, they wont even pay 2 put our ceiling write. Help please

McKneff

Have they said why

I'm only guessing here but iyour buildings insurance probaly not cover for wear and tear which it seems is what happened. Any other answers anyone.

tenmah

Did you declare that there was a flat roof? They are notorious for needing repairing regularly and many insurers don't like to insure them for that reason.

dacouch

Its always the same with Flat Roofs, they generally have a life expectancy of ten years so after ten years old any leaks are normally classed as wear and tear. If there is accidental damage cover on the policy you can often get the Insurers to pay the damage the water has done but obviously not for repairing the roof.

It can be possible to argue that if the flat roof is not level and the water had built up on it over a period that it is a flood.

The first question an Insurer generally asks if there is a flat roof involved is how old is the roof.

OP do you have Accidental Damage Cover on your policy?

FlameCloud

A flat felt roof should not be flat in the first place It should have an angle of 3 degrees, otherwise water would pool.

An buildings policy is not a maintenance policy so unless something has damaged the roof (eg Storm) then it will not be covered. Internals are covered if water has ingressed under the AD section of the buildings cover, which is why I always think people should take this section out.

Beware however several insurers are now starting to specifically exclude water ingress even from AD.

McKneff

The engineers report will have included the fact that a flat roof was involved.

sp275

Thanks everyone for ur time, i did have accidental damage cover & they knew about the flat roof when we took policy out. As its 10yrs old ur write they wont pay out, so im left with a large hole in my ceiling so getting legal advice thru C.A.B.

dacouch

No Insurer will pay to repair the roof as this is a normal wear and tear issue eg its the normal cost of maintaining a home. There is nothing in their policyn saying they exclude cover for the damage the water has done if you have accidental damage cover. Ring back and speak to a superviser (Politely). Explain you have Accidental Damage Cover and they should pay for the damage the water has done and the damage THEIR inspector has caused

sp275

Thanks for ur advice, i have spoken to a supervisor regarding this and they said they wont pay out because they sent a company in called "HOMESERVE" As it was them who made the hole 2 investigate i will have to take them 2 court to recover my losses