Need advice house insurance refused 81 year old man dying of cancer!

peachyprice

hollydays wrote: »

The worst insurance company I've ever dealt with was Liverpool Victoria, it wasn't them was it ?

OP said it was Aviva.

hollydays

Thanks, missed that.

hollydays

This is potentially a much more involved issue than you are presenting.
There will be a clause in the insurance policy no doubt relating to maintenance of the property. If the mortar has shown signs of needing repointing or there has been indicators eg damp or movement , I don't think the insurance company may be to blame , but I would be more concerned about the stability of the house. Are the roof tiles in good order , as this is the point where the wall collapsed -damper mortar there maybe?
What advice have they offered your uncle?

Consulting a structural engineer asap should be his priority surely?

somethingcorporate

I agree with the above, making the house safe should be priority number 1. Dealing with the insurance company can come later.

Get a structural engineer and decent builder in to get the house secured and then go to the obmudsman with the insurance issues.

Keep_pedalling

Having just read through Aviva's home insurance policy, it does say that it does not cover damage caused by faulty materials, poor design or workmanship.

Even though it has stood for 60 years, there is no way a structure of that age should suddenly collapse whatever the weather, so poor construction could well be the main factor here, which would make your fight with the insurance company a tricky one.

As a matter of urgency you need to get a report from a structural engineer on the cause of the collapse, and the risk to the rest of the building. If (s)he confirms what Aviva are saying then it is likely that you are not going to get far with the insurance company, but if your own surveyer comes up with something else like subsidence then you will have a much stronger case to take back to Aviva and if nessasary the ombudsman.

shaun_from_Africa

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Even though it has stood for 60 years, there is no way a structure of that age should suddenly collapse whatever the weather, so poor construction could well be the main factor here, which would make your fight with the insurance company a tricky one.

But as the link I showed earlier stated. poor construction should only be a reason to refuse to pay out if the insured person could have been reasonably expected to know about that poor construction.

The house I currently live in is about 45 years old and I have lived there for 12 years so if the builder used substandard materials or poor building practices, how would I be expected to know about this?
Even if I actually saw the house being built, I'm not a builder myself so wouldn't have a clue if the correct standards were being met.

Knowingly failing to disclose material facts is a legitimate reason for an insurer to refuse to pay out. Unknowingly failing to declare those facts isn't.

Keep_pedalling

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

But as the link I showed earlier stated. poor construction should only be a reason to refuse to pay out if the insured person could have been reasonably expected to know about that poor construction.

The house I currently live in is about 45 years old and I have lived there for 12 years so if the builder used substandard materials or poor building practices, how would I be expected to know about this?
Even if I actually saw the house being built, I'm not a builder myself so wouldn't have a clue if the correct standards were being met.

Knowingly failing to disclose material facts is a legitimate reason for an insurer to refuse to pay out. Unknowingly failing to declare those facts isn't.

I agree you would not know this, my house is 75 years old and there is no way I can tell if there is a latent defect waiting to show itself next week. The issue is that the policy clearly states that it does not cover building defects, so would that not give Aviva a legitimate reason not to pay out?

Different polices provide varying levels of cover, and if I don't take out a policy that covers hidden defects then surely I can't claim for them when they become apparent.

Keep_pedalling

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

I agree you would not know this, my house is 75 years old and there is no way I can tell if there is a latent defect waiting to show itself next week. The issue is that the policy clearly states that it does not cover building defects, so would that not give Aviva a legitimate reason not to pay out?

Different polices provide varying levels of cover, and if I don't take out a policy that covers hidden defects then surely I can't claim for them when they become apparent.

Just checked my own policy which also has this exclusion, as do a couple of others I've looked at. Seems a bit unfair for those of us in older homes, where this must be a very rare occurrence but one that could have extremely serious consequences.

hollydays

Trying not to give advice as I'm not a building expert, just someone who's bought a few older properties over the years, and helped my kids to do the same.
It would be helpful to see the exact wording of the written report from the builder, is there is a difference between insufficient ties and ties that have corroded( a common issue apparently ) as one 'seems ' to imply poor workmanship and the other simple wear ie metal rusts.get them to email you a copy ASAP . That report should also indicate if there were any outward signs that should have been spotted , eg cracks, sagging or bowing of walls.

And as for the mortar, again is that poor workmanship, or simply the the type of mortar in common use?p at that time?
There's a possibility that there is more danger to pedestrians in this situation from falling masonry, particularly with these high winds, has this been addressed?

[Deleted User]

Hi Kesaluner

Thanks for your post and I'm so sorry to hear about the situation your Uncle has been put in related to his home insurance claim.

If you'd like me to arrange for someone to contact either your Uncle or yourself on his behalf, so they can discuss his further options and answer any questions he has, please email the following details to social@aviva.co.uk -

Your Uncle's full name
Your Uncle's date of birth
Your Uncle's postcode
Policy number
Your full name
Whether you have permission to discuss the details on his behalf
Your Money Saving Expert username

I hope this helps and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kind Regards

Stephanie

Aviva Social Media Team