Claiming on indemnity insurance

hungledink

I bought a house in December last year. The house has a small extension to the rear of the property and since the owner had no documents to prove the extension was built to code, I was given indemnity insurance if anything went wrong with.

Until recently I had used the extension for storage so hadn't had much cause to use it, or notice any issues with it but with the warmer weather I've cleared it out and noticed some issues.

I believe the extension has a huge leak, with the heavy rain we've had the past few days, there appears to be rain water running down the wall where the extension joins the main house and pools on the floor. The wall also looks to have large amount of water damage.

Would the indemnity insurance cover the cost of any repairs that were needed and if so how do I go about claiming for it?

Keep_pedalling

I doubt it, indemnity insurance is to cover claims made against you.

hungledink

Made against me? Or the previous occupants?

marksoton

In most cases the build quality is for you to ensure before purchase.

frugalsmurf

Indemnity insurance is for if someone came along and asked you to take it down as it shouldn't have been built or wasn't built to specifications.(As there was no proof)

You need to claim on your house insurance(if it covers that? Not sure whether it would)

DRP

As others have mentioned. Indemnity is (useless) to protect against 'the authorities' bringing action to get you to take it down.

I've never heard of anyone on here actually being able to clai on it, and I'd be very interested to hear what it actually pays *for*.

hungledink

Ok thanks for the info.

The way it was described to me was it would cover me if anything went wrong with the extension. I guess I must have mis understood.

Surrey_EA

I'm afraid you have misinterpreted the purpose of the indemnity insurance policy.

Keep_pedalling

hungledink wrote: »

Made against me? Or the previous occupants?

Against you. For instance if the council demanded you demolish the extension you would have a claim against the insurance.

DRP

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

Against you. For instance if the council demanded you demolish the extension you would have a claim against the insurance.

What would it actually pay for in that instance? (or any instance)

eddddy

DRP wrote: »

What would it actually pay for in that instance? (or any instance)

Here's an example of a Building Regs Indemnity policy's key features:

If the local authority serves a building regulation enforcement notice (i.e. a section 36 notice) or obtains an injunction under the building regulations in respect of the works described above, this policy provides cover for the following up to your selected limit of indemnity :

- the cost of altering, demolishing or reinstating the property
- the reduction in the value of the property
- costs and expenses with our consent.

Obviously, different policies will vary.