Home and Contents insurance - is storm damage worth it?

Imperial926

I have an M&S policy which, as most people know, is actually underwritten by Aviva.
A recent claim on storm damage was refused as my slate roof was deemed in need of repair. I'm now looking to take up a policy with a different insurer but I notice that the cheapest quotes don't include storm damage!

My query is whether it's best to go with a cheap policy since I have discovered that going with a so-called premium policy hasn't paid out when I need it anyway!

A second concern is that all these companies divert the claim to other companies. Is there a one-stop insurer for home and contents that actually processes claims themselves?

Thirdly, how many people actually constantly inspect their roof so that storm damage will be covered? If my whole roof were to be blown away would I not be covered and, if so, what's the point of a belt and braces home policy?

XRS200

Imperial926 said:

I notice that the cheapest quotes don't include storm damage!

That's unusual, which insurers?

DullGreyGuy

Imperial926 said:

I have an M&S policy which, as most people know, is actually underwritten by Aviva.
A recent claim on storm damage was refused as my slate roof was deemed in need of repair. I'm now looking to take up a policy with a different insurer but I notice that the cheapest quotes don't include storm damage!

My query is whether it's best to go with a cheap policy since I have discovered that going with a so-called premium policy hasn't paid out when I need it anyway!

A second concern is that all these companies divert the claim to other companies. Is there a one-stop insurer for home and contents that actually processes claims themselves?

Thirdly, how many people actually constantly inspect their roof so that storm damage will be covered? If my whole roof were to be blown away would I not be covered and, if so, what's the point of a belt and braces home policy?

All Home insurance requires you to maintain your property to a reasonable standard and so Storm, Flood, AD etc can all be declined if you aren't doing this. Its an insurance to cover "events", its not a maintenance policy.

M&S is at best a "mass exclusive" product, if you want to look for premium then you'd be getting quotes from the likes of Hiscox but they too will have maintenance clauses. 

In principle there is no reason why Home couldn't be written excluding Storm but dont know any that do in the UK... in the US its more "hurricane" and yes policies do exist that exclude it and may or may not cover "fire following"

There is no statutory requirement to hold home insurance, but if you have a mortgage there is normally a contractual obligation. If you are making a conscious decision not to maintain the property then buying insurance is probably a waste. 

Annemos

I think we are all noticing this, as more bad weather is happening. 

Firstly, my policy says this before you even start thinking about a claim: they look for Meteorological proof, too: 


Storm An unusual weather event with persistent high winds over 55mph, and often associated with rain, thunder, lightning or snow



Secondly, I wonder if one can only be relatively confident, if one's whole roof was replaced recently! 5 years for a flat roof? Maybe longer for others. 


Starting to just hope that they would pay up if it was a tornado or hurricane!! 

TELLIT01

I've been insured with Direct Line for years and they have paid out on a storm damage claim quickly and painlessly.

Imperial926

Esure exclude storm damage and so did may of the cheaper quotes I was offered.

We do maintain our property and undertake repairs, as necessary, and to a high standard. However, the roof is indeed old but if I spent £15k on it now how soon would an insurer duck out of paying? Our roofer says a slate roof will last a lifetime but it seems insurers think otherwise. Of course they do!

We lost just one tile in an acknowledged storm. The cost was £900 for the scaffolding and less than £100 to replace the tile and check that area of the roof generally. 

I am left a very cynical customer who is now sceptical about any 'premium' product.

DullGreyGuy

Imperial926 said:

Esure exclude storm damage and so did may of the cheaper quotes I was offered.

We do maintain our property and undertake repairs, as necessary, and to a high standard. However, the roof is indeed old but if I spent £15k on it now how soon would an insurer duck out of paying? Our roofer says a slate roof will last a lifetime but it seems insurers think otherwise. Of course they do!

We lost just one tile in an acknowledged storm. The cost was £900 for the scaffolding and less than £100 to replace the tile and check that area of the roof generally. 

I am left a very cynical customer who is now sceptical about any 'premium' product.

https://www.esure.com/home-insurance - esure does include storm damage as per the chart on their product landing page. 

An insurer doesn't opine on how long a roof will last instead they look at the condition it is in when it's damaged. If you look on the ombudsman website there are plenty of cases on Storm, most on if the definition of storm was met or not however others are due to lack of maintenance. Basically if the roof is rotten then the root cause is the rot not the wind and it would have failed in a modest time period anyway without a storm. 

Imperial926

I looked at the Esure details via the 'Compare the Market' website. There were clear X marks against storm damage with both the Flex product and standard offer. Your comment makes we wonder if the offer is different if they are approached directly.

I accept your analysis of roof condition. I shall just have to consider that I will be covered for everything below the roofline, take a cheap quote and start saving for a new roof!

Imperial926

I did look at Hiscox(!) - their cover read very well. Then, in a short questionnaire it turned out they only cover homes over £500k in value. 

DullGreyGuy

Imperial926 said:

I looked at the Esure details via the 'Compare the Market' website. There were clear X marks against storm damage with both the Flex product and standard offer. Your comment makes we wonder if the offer is different if they are approached directly.

I accept your analysis of roof condition. I shall just have to consider that I will be covered for everything below the roofline, take a cheap quote and start saving for a new roof!

Insurers do often sell a cut down version of their products on aggregators and sell a fuller version on their own website... different approaches attract different types of people with different priorities. Aggregator customers are normally all about price hence lower coverage can get lower price. 

It is odd however as when I look at Compare the Market "storm" isn't even one of the parameters to have a tick or cross next to it?

Imperial926 said:

I did look at Hiscox(!) - their cover read very well. Then, in a short questionnaire it turned out they only cover homes over £500k in value. 

They have minimum sums insured yes, technically there is no issue of being over insured other than for the wasted premiums. 

Remember for Home its rebuild cost not the value of the house, £500k is not a massive value given how expensive building is right now; my childhood home was a good sized 4 bed house and according to the ABI calculator its rebuild cost is £489k