Home insurance cancelled!

Stranger_Than_Fiction

A friend found water leaking into her son's bedroom ceiling. She asked a builder to take a look and was told the house next door had a problem with their roof not being level so the excess water was running off onto her roof and causing the problem. She phoned her insurance company who promptly cancelled her insurance because they told her they did not cover flat roofs. She says she wasn't asked when she took the policy out whether she had a flat roof and wasn't aware it would be an issue.

To make the situation worse, the house next door is owned by a Housing Association who don't see it's any of their problem as their property is staying nice and dry!

My friend is a single mum who works really hard (not that this should make any difference) but I feel she's being treated really badly all round.

Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks.

Quentin

Stranger_Than_Fiction wrote: »

She phoned her insurance company who promptly cancelled her insurance because they told her they did not cover flat roofs. She says she wasn't asked when she took the policy out whether she had a flat roof and wasn't aware it would be an issue.

Irrespective of whether or not they accept this as a claim, she needs to escalate the issue of them now cancelling her cover, as having a cancelled policy on your record can lead to extra problems and expense finding a new insurer.

Get her to escalate this to a manager with her insurer, and point out to them that this flat roof exclusion wasn't mentioned previously.

property.advert

Get them to pull the tapes relating to all previous discussions. If they cannot, then they cannot prove whether the issue of a flat roof was in fact raised. If an online application, then review the current online form to see whether there is a question regarding having a flat roof.

As suggested, she needs to get it on the desk of someone higher up the food chain than the telephone operator.

david39

All the on-line applications I have made for buildings cover have asked about flat rooves.

Usually along the lines of "Is any part of your property covered by a flat roof - if so, what percentage is it of the total roof area?"

I am aware that with my comparison-site applications, several companies have declined to quote because I have an estimated 25% flat roof coverage.

huckster

Not much to add. Only that the Housing Association won't do anything about next door , unless there is some property law that they need to comply with. Your friend could speak to the local authorities department that deals with housing/planning issues. They should have a technical team that deals with property issues, who should have in-depth knowledge of any laws/regulations that might assist your friend. My gut feeling is that there probably is not and that your friend will need to have some work done, to waterproof the roof and channel the water away.

In regard to Insurance, the Insurers can opt to cancel giving 7 days notice, if they had been given information not previous disclosed, which does not meet their underwriting criteria. Your friend can of course complain/appeal about this as appropriate.

Best option to find an Insurer to cover the house, is to use a local broker. Use this link. http://www.biba.org.uk/ConsumerHome.aspx

*Scarlett

Most companies will ask if the property is built of "standard construction" eg brick, stone concrete with slate or tile roof (flat roofs would tend not to be slate or tile). Or online they will have drop down boxes to enter the construction of the walls and roof or ask you to confirm assumptions about the property to be insured regarding this.

Your friend may have missed this or indeed an error made by the agent speaking to them. Check any policy paperwork to see if you can find anything relating to this.

Either your friend has made an error ( if they took the policy online this is their responsibilty) or if the insurer set up the policy incorrectly it would need to be escalated by listening to original calls to see if they asked about the construction of the proprerty.

Many insurers will cover properties with a flat roof but the premium may tend to be higher. The cancellation of this policy will need to be disclosed on future quotes so you will probably have to speak to companies directly after using comparison sites.

Hopefully your friend can get this sorted.

System

david39 wrote: »

All the on-line applications I have made for buildings cover have asked about flat rooves.

Usually along the lines of "Is any part of your property covered by a flat roof - if so, what percentage is it of the total roof area?"

I am aware that with my comparison-site applications, several companies have declined to quote because I have an estimated 25% flat roof coverage.

ive never been asked this .

dunstonh

The "flat roofs" question is a very common one. It would be unusual not to see it mentioned (but not impossible). Hence why details of the application need to be known to see if it was asked (if phone based).

mikey72

They usually ask if the house is "brick and tile" at the least.
But I would expect the premium to be different if it was a felt roof, but not to cancel the insurance out of hand.

dunstonh

But I would expect the premium to be different if it was a felt roof, but not to cancel the insurance out of hand.

Some insurers wont offer cover at all if there is a flat roof or if the flat roof is greater than x% of the overall roofing.

Under non-disclosure guidelines, they can void a policy if they wouldnt have offered cover from the start. However, in that case, they need to refund premiums if its accidental non-disclosure. If its intentional non-disclosure then they can keep the premiums.

So, the whole issue reverts back to what happened at point of application in what was asked about flat roofs and what was replied. If the sales rep on the phone (we are assuming phone based on post #1 as she said she wasnt asked) didnt mention flat roofs then the insurer would have to pay out (or the broker if it wasnt a rep of the insurer).