Good state of repair

robert11

Like many I suffered loss due to storm damage - Barra, not Arwen - when the asphalt on garage was lifted clean off after the brickwork it was atached to at front of garage collapsed in strong winds. I was expecting this to be a straightforward storm damage claim but that was without factoring in insurance company loss adjustor! He assessed the damage and stated the asphalt was poorly maintained citing little areas where reflective 'granule' had come loose as causing delamination and weakening of bonding which subsequently caused roof to come loose and be removed the way it was in storm winds. Various roofers I've had visit to give me quotes for replacement have said it's normal wear and tear and would not be the cause of the damage caused i.e. the storm has caused the damage. Subsequently they've denied the claim relying on the good state of repair T&C. 

Nowhere in my policy is there a definition of what constitutes a good state of repair, there is however on the insurers website the following

Good state of repair

Your property will generally need to be classed as being in a good state of repair for you to insure it. Essentially, this means the house should be structurally sound with no incomplete building works or signs of issues such as dry rot, damp, loose roof tiles or faulty wiring.

Now in this cased we're talking about a garage roof that prior to Storm Barra, has survived 23 years worth of storms in the time I've lived here with normal roof maintenance i.e. replacing asphalt when it started leaking, last done 10 years ago taking into account most roofers telling you asphalt should be good for 20-30 years thereafter using good quality materials which these were. The garage prior to the storm was structurally sound per the above.

My question is is there anyone out there who has been through anything similar with their insurance company, how did you fight it and waht was the outcome? Are there any recognised bodies - in Scotland specifically - to provide independent reports? I though it would be an easy enough matter to find a loss assessor to do this but there seems to be no recognised trade body/list in order to approach that I can easily find online.

In the meantime I've objected to the company turning down my claim, I've asked for - can anyone advise am I entitled to? - a copy of the report the denial of claim was based on, the adjustors background and what percentage of storm damage assessments he's undertaken that have been approved. I've also asked what definition they are working too.

Any other suggestions would be mcuh appreciated & thanks for reading.

Ian

Annemos

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/storm-damage

Here are a few notes about this above from the Ombudsman.

I am just a homeowner.... so next comments are just my thoughts on this. 

You would definitely need your own report to stand a chance of getting anywhere. A competent roofing company?? They would ideally have to be able to give you an assessment that it was definitely the storm that caused the damage, rather than the storm that had exposed problems with the roof that were already there.  I am not a roofer, so I don't know what methods they use to ascertain that.

If it is merely possible that it could have been the storm, then I suspect you might not win. Although proof of absolutely awful wind speeds might help your case, I suppose. 


I have not been given access to a certain report/assessment in my claim. The Loss Adjuster has said that the Insurance Company is waiting for the Ombudsman's ruling and so the Loss Adjuster cannot provide any further comment.

(I don't know if Subject Access Requests work, to get actual reports.)

The Ombudsman process has been 8 months and it is continuing. About 5 months was spent in the actual queue. 

Sandtree

Plenty of FOS decisions to look at to see what they consider:

Decision Reference DRN2182429 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) - wall fell in storm; FOS sided with insurer that not in good state of repair

Decision Reference DRN-2780979 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) - roof leaked after storm; FOS sided with insurer despite owner submitting pre and post reports stating generally in good condition

Decision Reference DRN-2780979 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) - roof leaked after storm; FOS sided with insured stating insurer provided insufficient evidence of how it determined poor condition

The key to a lot of the decisions is the policyholders ability to submit evidence of regular checks/maintenance on the roof, particularly with those insurers that add a flat roof endorsement requiring a minimum of 5 year inspections. Most claimed they have had such checks done but cannot provide evidence of it.