Claim declined from Outbuilding

Orchard427

Hi - new to this forum but been on other forums on MSE.
Long story short - an insurance claim for theft has been refused as the theft, was from a shipping container, which we were using as storage.
In our policy there is cover for theft from 'outbuildings' with forced entry (bolt cutters in this case), but outbuildings are not defined in the policy. The dictionary definition varies but is generally 'a seperate building such as a shed or barn that belongs to a main building, such as a house or farm', so I have a steel shed.
Anyone come across definition of outbuildings in insurance claims before please, or other advice?

rs65

If not defined in the policy, dictionary definition applies.

I think you will be struggling to class a container as an outbuilding.

FutureGirl

I wouldn't class a storage container as a 'building'.

What do they define 'building' as?

Orchard427

No definition of Outbuildings in the Policy - so I'm going the Dictionary!


Building Definition:
- The home and its decorations
- Fixtures and fittings attached to the home
- Permanently installed swimming pools, ornamental ponds or fountains, hard tennis courts, drives, patios and terraces, walls, gates fences, hedges and fixed fuel tanks you own or for which you are legally responsible within the premises named in the schedule.


I'm going to argue there is no definition of an outbuilding / shed or whatever, so a steel shed is just a strong outbuilding - see how it goes. I'm down £1,500 otherwise.

phillw

FutureGirl wrote: »

I wouldn't class a storage container as a 'building'.

I know someone who had a pair of shipping containers in their garden that they used for offices.

I can see why there would be a struggle to get them to accept the claim, but surely it's how you use the containers that counts.

Probably should have been declared when taking out the policy though.

Orchard427

Thanks all. I'll let you know how it goes

Blibble

Were the containers within your land boundary or outside of it?

System

I've just watched a Grand Designs episode about someone who built a house out of shipping containers.

NCC-1707

FutureGirl wrote: »

I wouldn't class a storage container as a 'building'.

What do they define 'building' as?

Converted to homes:-

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/shipping-container-converted-house-homeless-36354

martinsurrey

Orchard427 wrote: »

No definition of Outbuildings in the Policy - so I'm going the Dictionary!


Building Definition:
- The home and its decorations
- Fixtures and fittings attached to the home
- Permanently installed swimming pools, ornamental ponds or fountains, hard tennis courts, drives, patios and terraces, walls, gates fences, hedges and fixed fuel tanks you own or for which you are legally responsible within the premises named in the schedule.


I'm going to argue there is no definition of an outbuilding / shed or whatever, so a steel shed is just a strong outbuilding - see how it goes. I'm down £1,500 otherwise.

A standard shipping container is 2.59m high, as its a thin flat roof thats the "eves" height of your "outbuilding".

As permitted development only allows outbuildings with eves height of 2.5m cant you just show your planning permission for these outbuildings to prove that they are in fact buildings?

how would you react if the planners asked you to get planning permission for them?