Roofing Problems

scaredofdebt

We had some damage caused to our roof by the recent storm, the insurance company has said they won't cover it as it was due to the roof being in a poor state of repair.  What are my options here?

The total damage has been quoted at £1,500 to repair.

They sent someone out to have a look at it and obviously it is now in a poor state of repair as most of it is in my garden.  Is this standard practice?  The rest of the roof is fine, only a corner was damaged.

I took on the policy due to the price and their very good Trustpilot rating but if you read the 1* reviews on Trustpilot they all have a similar story to mine, the insurer won't pay out as they claim "poor state of repair".

elsien

What evidence is there as to the state of repair it was in before the storm?
You could get someone else out to have a look at it to give an opinion, but your options are going to be a complaint to the insurance company and then take it to the ombudsman if you’re still not happy.

scaredofdebt

elsien said:

What evidence is there as to the state of repair it was in before the storm?
You could get someone else out to have a look at it to give an opinion, but your options are going to be a complaint to the insurance company and then take it to the ombudsman if you’re still not happy.

There's no evidence sadly as I don't have a photo or report etc.

We did have work done on another part of the roof a couple of years ago and the roofer at that time said he thought the rest of the roof was OK but nothing in writing or anything.  We've had a lot of storms this year, but Isha was particularly brutal, I've never known anything like those winds.

elsien

Well no, but it also comes down to what evidence they have that it was in a poor state of repair as well? You could query for example how that judgement was made? Who did they send out to look? I'd still be tempted to get someone else out who is willing to give a view in writing. 

Albermarle

I took on the policy due to the price and their very good Trustpilot rating but if you read the 1* reviews on Trustpilot they all have a similar story to mine, the insurer won't pay out as they claim "poor state of repair".

There is no problems to name names on here, as long as you have a genuine grievance and you do not go OTT calling them criminals or similar, or naming individuals.

scaredofdebt

Albermarle said:

I took on the policy due to the price and their very good Trustpilot rating but if you read the 1* reviews on Trustpilot they all have a similar story to mine, the insurer won't pay out as they claim "poor state of repair".

There is no problems to name names on here, as long as you have a genuine grievance and you do not go OTT calling them criminals or similar, or naming individuals.

I've posted a review on Trustpilot and they've already responded to that saying they will review my claim, so I will await the outcome of that first.  Pity they don't respond so quickly to normal customer queries!

Bigphil1474

We've had 3 claims over the last 20 years with Prudential, all paid out no issues. One was for subsidence which cost a fortune, but the other 2 were for roof damage following a storm. What helped on both was that other properties in our street had also suffered roof damage at the same time. If every other house near you was fine after the storm, they may be using that to judge you roof as not in good repair.

Might be worth seeing if the roofer you last had out could provide something, or even quote for the repair indicating storm damage.