Claim for porch's flat roof

Skag

My property's porch roof has been damaged due to the bad weather. I've opened a claim with my insurer who came back with this:

"Flat Roof Endorsement:
Any flat roof at the residence must have been inspected, repaired, renovated or replaced no more than two years prior to the start of this insurance with bi-annual inspections and actions undertaken. Records of the original and future inspections and repair should be retained for our inspection upon request. "

In order for us to consider the claim any further please can you provide us with the following evidence to show that the above endorsement has been fully complied with:

• The age of the roof
• A copy of the original inspection report being no more than two years prior to the start of this insurance
• A copy of the previous bi-annual maintenance reports



Now, I wasn't even aware of the fact that I should maintain this roof bi-annually (the rest of the roof is inclined), so that's one thing I've learnt.

I don't have any of the information they ask for, since I've bought the property 7 years ago and it has been let for the whole time.

I thought I'd run it past this useful forum.
Any suggestions how to tackle that apart from replying that I don't have any of the info you ask for?

Quentin

Its a normal endorsement - see if you actually have it on your policy.


If so there is little you can do regarding a claim, and it's down to you to pay


Next time you consider a claim, make sure you will do so before contacting your insurer. This loss will now have been added to your record meaning you must now disclose it when applying to insurers for quotes over the next 3/5 years with an inevitable effect on your premium

Skag

Thanks for that. So it still gets recorded even if I haven't actually taken any money from the insurer?

huckster

The attempted claim will be recorded, but showing nil payment, so should not affect you.

You need to look through all of your Insurance documents issued. They should have told you when you bought the policy. If they failed to advise you properly, you might still be able to claim. But if there is an excess and future premiums would be affected, it may not be worth it.

Skag

huckster wrote: »

If they failed to advise you properly, you might still be able to claim. But if there is an excess and future premiums would be affected, it may not be worth it.

There is indeed an excess of £250 but the complete work is around £1000.

However what you mentioned must be of some value. I did get the whole bunch of documents but I wasn't advised properly about this specific clause per se. Though I do remember having selected the option about the 75% inclined roof when I quoted online, without any further explanation.

How do you suggest I could pull this off granted that the clause is written in the document? (which we all know is a huge list of wills and will nots)

Quentin

Skag wrote: »

How do you suggest I could pull this off granted that the clause is written in the document? (which we all know is a huge list of wills and will nots)

If you feel the endorsement is not made clear in the document you can complain to the insurer ( their complaints procedure will be set out in the doc)


If you are unhappy with their reply you can then escalate the matter to the FOS for their adjudication at no cost to you

huckster

It is an important endorsement you should have been made aware of before buying the policy. I would have expected the Insurers to give you the information, as you might have immediately thought the policy was not suitable.

BUT the Insurers will say you had a 14 day cooling off period, where you could have read the policy. Also you had the policy documents for quite along time and the Insurers letter would have told you to read the policy.

You can complain as Quentin says, but you it would be difficult to win the argument.

FutureGirl

You have been made aware of the endorsement - it's written in your policy documents. You're given a 14 day cooling off period to read through the documents to ensure details are correct and that the cover is suitable for you.

By not cancelling within the 14 day cooling off period, and paying for the policy you're agreeing to the terms, whether you've read them or not.