Garden Wall blown down in storm

Spikey1

Hi there,

The first thing to establish is that there WERE storm conditions. So there should have been wind speeds in excess of 47mph at the time of the collapse.

The second thing to consider is whether the wall was in reasonable condition immediately before the storm. If it was already in a very weakened state and in need of overhaul then the insurers would have a case to decline your claim.

Ok...if there WERE storm conditions and the wall WAS in a reasonable condition, then the Adjuster/Inspector who came out has got this wrong. He cannot decline your claim on the basis of a 40 year old construction defect ......he could only do that if the construction defect was itself the reason why the wall collapsed.

If you had an Adjuster out to see you just bypass him and his comp-any and go direct to your insurance company's complaints dept......you'll find their details either at the front or back of your policy booklet.

tranceaddict

Thanks for all the replies.

Do you have copies of the NHBC or Zurich certificates approving the build in 1970 and the Council Building Regulations certificate signing off?

I have been searching through all my paperwork regarding the house and have ascertained the following, house was actually built in 1974, and I have found a document from the local borough council relating to the buildings regulations 1972 issued on 22nd May 1973 stating

"The Plans and particulars deposited for approval in respect of 196 houses, roads and sewers and all work works at (name of estate) for (name of company constructing the homes) have been considered by the Borough Council and they have approved them"

"This approval is in respect of the Building Regulations and all relevant sections of the Public health Acts etc etc"

Hopefully that will suffice

Do you know the name of the original builder? If so tell them the allegation and ask them to inspect and provide their answer to the allegation. They might have the original wall spec to show whether it was up to approved standards at the time.

The name of the builders on on the above document, and they are still gong, so I've sent them an e-mail to ask for a repsonse.

The first thing to establish is that there WERE storm conditions. So there should have been wind speeds in excess of 47mph at the time of the collapse.

There was, not sure of exact wind speeds, but the assessor agreed that the insurance company has already said that storm forces were in effect.

The second thing to consider is whether the wall was in reasonable condition immediately before the storm.

Again the assessor said that the wall was in a good condition and most of the bricks etc could be salvaged if a new wall was to be built.

I will start to compose a letter of complain direct to the insurance company.

Many thanks for all your help

jonesMUFCforever

I very much doubt if the builder if still in business will respond to anything regarding this - I know if I was that builder I would not get involved.
The document you hold is your ace - I don't see ANY way that an insurance company can reject your claim if the wall was in good condition before the incident.

Quentin

tranceaddict wrote: »

I will start to compose a letter of complain direct to the insurance company.

The sooner the better as they are allowed 8 weeks to resolve a complaint before you can escalate to the FOS.

Get a cert. of posting from the post office.

tranceaddict

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

The document you hold is your ace - I don't see ANY way that an insurance company can reject your claim if the wall was in good condition before the incident.

I have also found a "Ten Year Protection Certificate" issued by the "National House Builders Registration Council" which states :

"The builder named opposite as a condition of registration with the National House Builders Registration Council confirms that all dwellings erected by him shall conform to the standards adopted as requirements by the council, the dwelling described has been periodically inspected during construction. As far as was seen the standards of workmanship and materials were substantially in conformity with the councils requirements"

Thats should help as well I hope.

Dimey

Good that NHBC certificate means the wall would have been approved as part of the build.

Don't confuse the Council planning consent with Building Regulations approval. Building Regulations would have signed off that the wall and house were inspected and conformed to building regulations at the time. If you don't have building regs sign off then your solicitor will and the house build company will.

Both those documents should suffice to prove the wall was built to regulation standard and was approved by the regulatory bodies. Plus it stood without problem for 40 years till the storm hit.

If you send copies to your insurance company that should head off any debate.

Edit : - just re-read your post and that does sound like you've got building regulation approval there, so all good to go. :-)

colinfragar

Firstly Check that you were covered all standard for damage caused to your home as a result of storm and flood damage as a home insurance customer. If your wall was in reasonable condition before storm than he cannot decline your claim. You can go direct to your insurance company to register complaint with all documents.

paddyandstumpy

some policies only cover storm damage to the main house itself, some also only cover damage to boundry walls/fences if the property was damaged at the same time.

check your wording, the insurer may still reject and cite one of the above...

tranceaddict

Hi All

Well I am pleased to say that after my letter and the inclusion of previously mentioned certificates etc I received a reply form the insurance company today, along with a lot of waffle were the words

"Having considered the points you raised in your letter and having reviewed your claim together with the loss adjustors report, I referred this to our claims management team for review, as a result I am please to tell you we are accepting your claim and one of our claims handlers will be in contact to move this forward"

Many thanks to all who helped with your suggestions and comments, just goes to show, for the price of a stamp I've saved myself between £2000 and £3000 :T:j

Thank you once again

Spikey1

Yup.....a classic case of the Loss Adjuster, who is not an employee of the Insurer, getting it wrong. It happens so often and can be very damaging to both the customer AND the Insurer.

Reputable Insurers WANT to pay claims which are covered by the policy. They WANT to get their decisions right and their own staff are steeped in their customer-focussed brand beliefs. They DO NOT WANT loss adjusters to unfairly reject valid claims. Your Insurers have served you well here. It would be nice if you remember this at renewal. Customer loyalty is a real problem nowadays....if you've got a good Insurer and the price is reasonable:T...stick with them.