Plasterboard from ceiling fell down before completion

eddddy

AskAsk said:

you can claim the damage from your insurer.

Only if it has resulted from an insured risk. 

(For example, a leaking roof is unlikely to be an insured risk.)

AskAsk

eddddy said:

AskAsk said:

you can claim the damage from your insurer.

Only if it has resulted from an insured risk. 

(For example, a leaking roof is unlikely to be an insured risk.)

a leaking roof is not insured but the cost of damage from the leak is often insured.  so you can't claim for the roof but you can claim for the ceiling.  i had a leak from a cold water tank in the loft, which caused the ceiling to collapse.  the cold water tank leak repair was not paid for by the insurer but the ceiling repair was paid for by the insurer.

accidental damage is also often covered so if the previous owners had stepped on the ceiling when they removed stuff from the loft, then that would also be paid for by the insurer.

eddddy

AskAsk said:

a leaking roof is not insured but the cost of damage from the leak is often insured.  so you can't claim for the roof but you can claim for the ceiling.  i had a leak from a cold water tank in the loft, which caused the ceiling to collapse.  the cold water tank leak repair was not paid for by the insurer but the ceiling repair was paid for by the insurer.

You're confusing 2 different things. Insurance policies often cover damage caused by "escape of water".

Water leaking from a tank (or pipe, or hot water cylinder, or washing machine) is "escape of water".

Rain water coming through a leaking roof isn't "escape of water".


An exception might be if the roof was damaged by a storm, and let water in as a result - but it would need to be a specific storm on a specific date. The insurers would check met office records to see if there were major storm conditions in the area on that date, which might be sufficient to damage a roof.

(And the OP hasn't mentioned any storm damage to the roof.)

Lisa21B

I think I can claim for the ceiling damaged caused by leaking roof

elsien

Lisa21B said:

I think I can claim for the ceiling damaged caused by leaking roof

But what people are telling you is to find out how much a repair is going to cost first.
Because even if you are insured it could be cheaper in the long run just to leave the insurance out of it.

Also if you knew the roof was leaking when you took out the insurance, did you declare it?   Because you have said "The roofer said it fell down due to leaky roof which I already knew from the survey report." and insurers tend to ask about whether the property is in a good state of repair. 

Martico

Yeah, I suspect if it's just reboarding and skimming a part of the ceiling (£300 or so?) then it's probably not worth bothering with insurance, given both higher future premiums and whatever the excess is on your policy. Depends on the extent of the damage, of course

Jonboy_1984

How old is the property and do you mean modern plasterboard or an older Lath and plaster ceiling?

Noneforit999

Its a bit of plasterboard, just get it replaced and move on.

The stress of trying to take the seller to court is simply not worth it.

Assuming its an older house, you will probably discover plenty over things done badly over the next few years that will cost you money to put right.  

Insurance is not worth bothering with as said above, the excess and increased premiums will cost more than getting a new bit of plasterboard and some skimming done.