Bit of my house has fallen on my car :(

mcjordi

it may be cheaper than the house excess to get a handyman to re render and pebble dash it..

again fixing car maybe will be cheaper to fix yourself than involving insurer..

but the render falling off does sound like a maintaince issue im afraid..

badmumof1

Why should your insurance company pay for your own lack of maintanence on your property?

dotchas

Please can someone ( maybe badmumof1) explain what maintenance I should do to ensure this does not happen?

Also it is not a roofing problem,the damage is to the render/harling below the roofline. It was completely replaced 7 years ago as the original coating was showing signs of wear but no damage ,just the little stones had become a bit bare in patches.

Foxyuk,
"water penetration over a short period of time would not cause this"
I am in Scotland and have had several inches of snow on my roof for over a month. We have also had at times,temps of less than -10C, which caused the snow to freeze again and then melt a bit and then freeze. That is what I believe caused the damage.

What would have happened if snow falling from my roof had caused damage? Because when it fell off the front of the house it came down with a great force. My postie missed it by 2 mins!:o:o:o

huckster

The maintenance would be to check that the render is firmly attached and if not to remove any bits that have become loose. Then when the weather is appropriate for the render to be repaired, to do a permanent repair.

It sounds like from what you have said, that the render for whatever reason has laminated from the brick or stone it is fixed to. It may be that water has penetrated the material causing it to eventually come off.

If you study your policy about what perils you are covered for and then research what conditions must be apparent for a claim to be successful, I think this should assist you. For claims to be made under the peril of storm, usually this must involve high winds, as well as snow or rain.

You would be best to get a builder to provide a written estimate for repairs and to advise of the cause of the render coming off. Then speak to your Insurers, if you think it is worth it.

It is a condition of your policy to take reasonable precautions to prevent loss or damage. It would be reasonable for you to get a builder out to check any damage known to you, but not for you to clear snow off the roof. Your policy will cover potential liabillity to a third party, if liability is proven by the third party.

lisyloo

Get quotes for the repairs first (as someone else said as well).
If you claim you will have to pay an excess, declare the claim for 3-5 years which will increase your premium AND lose NCD.
You can do fake quotes top see how much, but remember increases will be for 3-5 years so you need to multiply.

Very difficult to give an exact figure (depends on how many claims and NCD you have already) but certainly anything below £300 won't be worth claiming. Possibly even up to £700 or £800 depending on many factors (you need to do your own sums).
The house damage does not sound massive.

Before you ask why am I insured :rotfl:
Insurance is very useful for large claims but not worth it for small ones.