Home Buildings Insurance

littlerock

My house contents are insured with LV and the building itself with Zurich (inherited policy from Building Society as part of mortgage). Around a year ago the rainwater downpipe got blocked and water starting backing up and seeping into the roof space above the gutter. It took a little while to get it fixed because it is above the conservatory and not everyone has a tall enough ladder or head for heights to clear it, but I got it done after around a week but it left the ceiling stained in some places.

Then I found I was in a grey area when it came to getting the internal ceiling repaired. Zurich said their buildings policy did not cover water excess damage and LV sent round a rather flash young man who said it was not covered by them either but they could make a special concession just once. In fact he was wrong and it was covered which I confirmed with head office - and indeed a few years earlier the bath overflowed and that was covered but the wording in the LV policy is a bit vague there.

Now I have paid off the mortgage :T I can get the buildings insured pretty much anywhere. So I phoned up Zurich and said (which is true) I had lost my policy documents and wanted to check the cover so could they send me a replacement set. They sent me a single page document saying I had buildings cover and how much I paid each month, but nowhere did it say what I was actually covered for.

Looking up Zurich policies on line I found a generic one which says they exclude excess water damage. They are also expensive and get terrible reviews. I could go back and ask them for a copy of the policy as well but it was hard work talking to them and with the renewal coming up shortly I want to shop around. Preferably for a policy which does include the sort of water damage described above.

Can anyone recommend a suitable comprehensive buildings policy which includes damage caused by excess water (eg as I have mentioned). It is a Victorian house. Not in a flood zone.

kinger101

Well, they don't tend to cover for damage caused due to poor maintenance of the rainwater goods, so it might have been refused on that basis. Burst pipes (and bath overflows) on the other hand tend to be accidental.

You'll struggle to get anyone to payout if they deem damage is caused by poor maintenance. That's not the purpose of insurance.

littlerock

House is well maintained. New roof only a few years ago. Seems a dead bird was blocking the rainwater hopper! The dining room ceiling though was our fault, due to OH forgetting to turn off bath while watch final of Tour de France.....

AlexMac

And unless the ceiling came down, and assuming you finally fixed the source of damp it's an easy DIY fix; a few hours job. Seal the damaged area with an oil-based paint (undercoat or gloss or 'obliterating paint') and next day, invest in a roller on a pole and a can of decent matt emulsion.

Eveyone gets leaks through their ceiling eventually- usually from dodgy plumbing, and I've never even considered a claim for such trivia as I like to keep my 'no-claim' premium low

But back to your original Q- why not ask? I usually do a comparison site roundup of prices, then ring the company when renewing insurance, so drop the Q in when you ring?

kinger101

Damn pesky birds. Fair enough, was just clarifying in case. There is an insurance board which might be a better place to ask. If there are any ambiguities in the wording of policy documents, it's supposed to work in your favour, but sometimes they're not clear and in some cases contradictory.

Might be worth checking the de facto ratings as well as the policy documents as well though.

G_M

There's a direct contradition here I'm afraid

littlerock wrote: »

House is well maintained. ....

the rainwater downpipe got blocked and water starting backing up and seeping into the roof space above the gutter. It took a little while to get it fixed because...

so clearly not 'well maintained'.

As for

the building itself with Zurich (inherited policy from Building Society as part of mortgage). ........Now I have paid off the mortgage :T I can get the buildings insured pretty much anywhere.

It is many many years since mortgage lenders have been able to insist on where borrowers obtain their buildings insurance. You could have switched donkeys years ago.

If you had lost your policy document at the time of the claim, why did you not get a copy at that time, and check? Or download it from their website?

As for selecting your next policy:
1) use all 3 of the comparison sites to check premiums
2) get online quotes from the few insurers not on comparison sites (Direct Line etc)
3) download the policy documents from the websites of the 4 or 5 cheapest insurers
4) compare the cover provided by each
5) look them up on review sites for customer service
6) choose the one you prefer based on price, exent of cover and customer servive level
7) clear your computer cache
8) log in to a cashback site, and re-do your quote for your preferred insurer
9) take out a policy
10) wait for your cashback to be paid

littlerock

our house IS well maintained, new slate roof around 5 years ago. Long story but pigeons were nesting in old garage locally which was pulled down soon aftercand they relocated to the roofs in our street. Roof is steep pitch and possible an elderly pigeon poking about died and fell into rainwater hopper. Next thing there is period of very heavy rain (that summer it did not stop raining) and gutter blocks and backs up......

I did not lose the ibsurance policy forms at the time of the caim but more recently an d it is only the Zurich one I cannot find. You are right I should have sorted out reinsuring the buildings ages ago. Had other priorities (mother with dementia) around same time. As for OH redecorating - in my dreams. Not everyone is handy you know. OH is a klutz (he has other redeeming qualities) and DIY on a high Victorian ceiling is not one of them. In the case of the dining room ceiling the plaster was so badly cracked it had to be replastered....

I have looked at price comparison websites but their policy summaries do not say if water excess is included is excluded, I think it varies according to insurer. (Although I did read that Zurich who have a terrible reputation for customer service, underwrite M &S.)

I was hoping I suppose that someone here might have had some claim on water damage and could recommend, or not, their insurer. I am particularly wary as my sister had a burst water pipe under the floor in her kitchen while away on holiday and came home to the damage. Her insurers, one of the big companies, were unhelpful although she was fully insured and tried to get her to settle for a low lump sum in a hurry. In the end they had to pay up..

dacouch

Your claim would probably have been covered if you had Accidental Damage Cover.

If the water had escaped from the pipe itself, it would have normally been covered by the Escape of Water Cover

G_M

A well-maintained property does not have a blocked gutter.

I am not critisising your maintenance or suggesting the property is falling down, just pointing out the legal definition in relation to the incident against which you wished to claim.

Had you maintained the gutter properly such that it performed its funcion, and removed water away from the property, there would have been no water damage.

I understand the pigeon story, but it is totally irrelevant in terms of the claim. Whether it was a dead pigeon, autumn leaves, or any other obstruction makes no difference. The gutter was not 'well maintained' (even if the rest of the property was).

You are right that comparison sites simply ..... errr.... 'compare' premiums. Which is why I put step 3 into my process above.

And frankly focussing exclusively on the water damage element of cover just because you had a bad experience with this is short-sighted. Yes, maybe someone will recommend an insurer with more extensive water damage cover which will meet your needs. But next year you may suffer a completely different loss and be complaining that xyz insurer does not cover that!

So you ned to look at each policy document as a whole and select an insurer whose cover includes all the possible claims you might want to make.

Of course, it is likely that to get the most extensive cover you'll have o look higher up the premium price list, since, as a very general rul, the cheaper the cover the more exclusions, and the fewer risks covered.

Perhaps this will help:

http://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/reviews-ns/home-insurance/