Another Asprea experience

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

Good evening viewers. I thought I might as well add my own Asprea experience to the growing list of satisfied customers.:eek:

In mid-November my house was battered by a violent hailstorm followed by torrential rain. A couple of hours later I could a hear a dripping noise above the bedroom ceiling. I went into the loft and found water pouring in and dripping onto the ceiling. I did a hasty internal repair to prevent any more water coming in which was just stuffing it up with rag and placing a few buckets strategically around the point of the main dripping areas. I called a builder in who confirmed considerable damage to the lead flashing that adjoins my property and next door.
Next day I phoned the insurance company who took all the details and said a property inspector would visit but I had to wait ten days for an appointment.
I waited in all morning for the said inspector and on his arrival he said he would first check the loft. This is where the true Asprea experience kicks in - a sort of cross between Candid Camera and Rogue Traders.
He wasn't allowed in the loft for health and safety reasons :T and proceeded to take two photos of the wall from 15 feet in total darkness.
On this evidence my hopes of him inspecting the roof properly weren't high. Sure enough he went and stood in the road about 50 feet away and took a photograph. He came back in and informed me that there was no damage to the roof and that due to the way lead is laid in 3ft strips water can always get in if you're unlucky with the wind direction.:rotfl:
He then said he would fill out a report for me to sign to say I agreed with his findings and he'd be on his way. I sent him on his way without bothering even to see his report. I phoned the Asprea office to complain and was told that the report would be sent in the post and nothing could be done until I'd received it. Three days later the report arrived. I thought at first that I'd been sent someone elses report as it listed a whole series of items that the so-called inspector had informed me of. There was no mention at all of what he had said but he'd fabricated a whole list of things which he supposedly advised me of. Most of it looked like a generic wear and tear report which he probably copied and pasted from his laptop.:A
I phoned the insurance company to complain and was informed that I had to complain to Asprea in the first instance. I filed my complaint and received a call from a "technical surveyor". He couldn't deal with the fabricated report and that was a job for the Area Manager. As for the "inspection" he said he'd looked at the photographs and upon zooming in could tell that there was no "storm displacement" of the roof. I enquired how you could possibly be sure there was no damage with such a long distance inspection. I will quote his reply for posterity "It's not our job to look for damage, only (....................drum roll..............) storm displacement"
As far as Asprea were concerned it was case closed and if I wanted a second opinion I have to hire another surveyor at my own cost.:j
So in essence the Asprea "property inspector" was a photographer who fabricates reports.:A
I was slightly peed off with his non-attempt to inspect the property, but his complete fabrication of his report left me a tad narked.
To be completely honest (which something no one at Asprea can aspire to) there might be some truth in the wear and tear aspect with the hailstorm being the straw that broke the proverbial camel - I can't be sure and more importantly nor can they as they've made no attempt to inspect the property.

Merry Christmas everyone....especially to all at Asprea.:D

dacouch

The problem here is that the majority of claims to lead flashing are not actually caused by a storms. The storm or heavy rain tend to find weaknesses in lead flashing that was or had already reached the end of its life.

Insurance does not cover for normal "Wear and Tear" eg the normal maintenence a homeowner would be expected to carry out on their home.

When Insurers receive these claims in the vast vast majority are simply caused by wear and tear so they are declined.

I suspect the Insurers / Asprea expected your damage to actually be wear and tear an thus took photographs.

To get the claim accepted you would need to demonstrate that the flashing had actually been damage eg torn away from the cement or tiles rather. With the wear and tear issue the cement that attaches the lead to the chimney / house starts to crumble an then particuarly heavy rain or rain hitting it at certain angles will enter the roof area.

It is very rare for me to see a claim for flashing to be accepte by an Insurer as it is rare that it is actually cause by a storm. The other issue you would have is a storm has a specific defintion with Insurer as to what constitutes a storm, heavy rain / hail is not always a defined as a storm. A lot of builders will say the damage is caused by a storm when it has simply perished as they want the business.

I assume your house is over 40 years old and has never had the flashing replaced, if it is younger or has had the flashing replaced in the last twenty years it would help your case. If it has not you would probably find most Insurers would have declined the claim.

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

The lead flashing was completely replaced in 1998. Had a proper inspection been carried out and a "wear and tear" conclusion been come to I would have considered it a possibility and been content if not entirely satisfied. I don't accept that a surveryor can say there's no damage and then fabricate a report.

dacouch

The fact you had the flashing replaced in 1998 should greatly help (Most people never replace their flashing and the only time they realise it needs replacing is when water gets in and they then put in an insurance claim).

When the damaged happened were there very strong winds at the same time and if so can you remember how fast the winds were?

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

The wind was gale force. In fact the surveryor even had the cheek to put in his bogus report that he'd informed me that the weather conditions I'd described at the time of my claim had prevailed in my area on the date in question.

dacouch

Are you through a broker or are you direct with aviva

Mr_Man_Full_of_Love

I'm with the Woolwich/Barclays.

dacouch

Thats a shame as they will not be much help in applying pressure.

You should gather as much evidence as possible eg any receipts for the replacement flashing and any other work you had done on the roof in 1998 etc. Take photos of the damaged flashing and the undamaged flashing. Write a polite and concise letter outlining why the claim is valid and should be paid. Mention the roof is well maintained and that flashing would be expected to last upwards of 30 years.

You can send this by email to Beccus who is the Aviva rep on MSE (She will probably read this thread anyway). If you have no joy with beccus then send an "Official Complaint" (The address one where to send this is outlined in your policy). If you then do not get a satisfactory response you can then go to the Ombudsman which will cost Aviva circa £500 whether you win or lose (But the Ombudsman will take months to give an answer).

rebecca.sibley@aviva.co.uk

Have a read of this guidance from the ombudsman which you may find helpful http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/28/28-poormaintenance.htm

[Deleted User]

Mr Man Full Of Love

As Dacouch has said, I do work for Aviva, and will happily investigate this for you. My email address is rebecca.sibley@aviva.co.uk

Becca

cogito

It's scarcely believable that a company like Aviva which values its reputation continues to do business with this bunch of cowboys. Given the continual complaints about Asprea on MSE and elsewhere, Aviva would do themselves a big favour by kicking them out. I'd certainly think twice about insuring with Aviva if I thought there was a possibility that I would find myself dealing with Asprea.

CrossKing

I am at my wits' end with Asprea and Aviva.

There was a leak from the flat above into my flat in APRIL 2009. Yes - 8 months ago. The flat is completely uninhabitable and I can get neither Asprea nor Aviva to take any concrete action to progress the matter. I call them on a daily basis and reiterate what I think they need to do, and all I get is these polite agreements 'yes, this is embarrassing' and 'yet, it should not have taken this long to resolve'.

Asprea's claims handling has, in my view, been nothing short of catastrophic. It was escalated to the Claims Manager 2 months ago and yet still the claim is not progressing. The latest in a catalogue of mishandling is that they sent someone to inspect the flat next door as they were adamant that there was a secondary leak coming from there. I waited a week for the report to be finally submitted - only for them to tell me that their contractor was of the view that flat next door was not actually next door to mine and that they needed to examine a completely different flat to look for this alleged secondary leak. Having lived in the flat for 2 years, I assured them that they were utterly wrong! And so 3 weeks later I am still waiting for their contractor to go back to the original flat. Seriously - you could not make this up!

And Aviva have not been any better. I escalated this to their Chief Exec's office (after getting through what one could only describe as a very unhelpful lady on the switchboard). And yet still they have not progressed it. They allocated the case to a new Loss Adjustor over 2 weeks ago. I left 3 messages for his to call me, called his boss, and I am still waiting for a response!

I have made complaints to both Aviva and Asprea so that I can escalate this to the ombudsman - but the flat has now been uninhabitable for 8 months!

I am going to send a letter to Aviva plc and Aviva General Insurance's CEO's home addresses.

Any suggestions for how I can get them to take some action gratefully received!