Roof Replacement - eligible for insurance? 6 September 2022 at 6:00AM in Insurance & life assurance 3 replies 93 views

IslaView

Hi,

During getting a new kitchen fitted recently, I was made aware that there was damp in my roof.  Further inspection form a local roofing guy showed that basically all my trusses were damp and full of woodworm.  He said it was a wonder that the roof was still up.  I was able to crumble off parts of the 2" thick trusses by hand.  I was advised that it would need replaced for fear of the roof collapsing, damaging the new kitchen that was being put in, as well as bathroom and bedrooms above.

Is there a chance I could claim for some or all of what I have spent back through my insurance?  To now I have spent in the region of £17,000 , and there are a few more expenses to be added to that total yet.  What should I be looking for on my house insurance?  Part of me thinks that because I decided to do it, rather than the roof actually collapsed, I might not be eligible.  I'm really hoping this is not the case though!

Cheers

Smithcom

Household insurance will (normally) cover specific perils like fire, accidental damage, flood etc.   

It's not designed to cover maintenance-type issues

Further, woodworm is not generally covered by home insurance. It's sometimes listed as an exclusion, or considered by insurers as gradual deterioration, or unavoidable wear and tear. Check with your insurer whether woodworm is covered by your buildings insurance policy.

I would be very surprised if you were covered for this matter, regardless of you already spending c£17,000.   The only way to be sure, is lodging a claim with your insurer, but you will then have a claim on your record, even if it's not paid.

SC

[Deleted User]

I think it's unlikely that this sort of issue would be an insured peril on your home insurance - as Smithcom says, it's not a maintenance contract.  Even if you did "wait for it to collapse", it could well be regarded as wear-and-tear.  I've known this to be the case on claims that were for 'storm damage' when it was discovered on investigation that the damage was present before the storm.

Even if it was covered, what you would be able to claim for would be the cost of fixing the problem not money that you've already spent on other things that aren't actually related to the insured peril.

Look at the insured perils on your policy wording and see if any of them cover damp in the roof or woodworm before looking at the exclusions and conditions to see whether they apply in your particular case.

IslaView

Based on what you have both said, I think the below pic probably rules me out for any claim