Home Insurance Discussion

dacouch

Luckless_pedestrian wrote: »

My partner and I are about to buy a ground floor flat in a converted 1930s terraced house. There is one more flat above us. We will acquire the freehold title for the entire property (the above flat is leasehold).

Does anyone know if we therefore need to take out block insurance? Or will standard building insurance suffice? Help!

You would generally take out block insurance and then recover the premium for the portion of the premium for the other flat from the other flat if you're not the owner of it.

You might find an Insurer that will cover it under a normal home Insurance if you call around.

Try a local broker (Avoid Swinton)

frank2020

Morning,

I'm in a slight panic, at the bottom of our garden is a retaining wall with a small stream, part of the wall has broken away and the rest of the wall has moved and is bending over.

I've submitted a claim with Admiral but I wondered if anyone has any advice to making a successful claim with this type of incident. Any info would be much appreciated... even if it's telling me it won't be a successful claim.

Thank you

Doc_N

frank2020 said:

Morning,

I'm in a slight panic, at the bottom of our garden is a retaining wall with a small stream, part of the wall has broken away and the rest of the wall has moved and is bending over.

I've submitted a claim with Admiral but I wondered if anyone has any advice to making a successful claim with this type of incident. Any info would be much appreciated... even if it's telling me it won't be a successful claim.

Thank you

The first question they'll ask is why the damage to the wall occurred?  Was it as a result of flood?  Storm?  Wind? Long-term wear and tear?  Could you elaborate please?

And is your policy the standard one, Gold or Platinum?

frank2020

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

frank2020

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Morning,

I'm in a slight panic, at the bottom of our garden is a retaining wall with a small stream, part of the wall has broken away and the rest of the wall has moved and is bending over.

I've submitted a claim with Admiral but I wondered if anyone has any advice to making a successful claim with this type of incident. Any info would be much appreciated... even if it's telling me it won't be a successful claim.

Thank you

The first question they'll ask is why the damage to the wall occurred?  Was it as a result of flood?  Storm?  Wind? Long-term wear and tear?  Could you elaborate please?

And is your policy the standard one, Gold or Platinum?

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

Doc_N

frank2020 said:

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

I've looked at the standard Admiral policy wording, and the answer, I'm afraid, is a little less than certain.  Garden walls are theoretically covered:

Buildings: Your home including its permanent fixtures and fittings, central heating fuel storage tanks and drains, permanently connected pipes and cables, service tank, solar panels and wind turbines permanently fixed to the buildings or the ground, including its: drives, decking, fences, garden walls, gates, ground source heating pumps, hard tennis courts, paths, patios, permanently fixed hot tubs or jacuzzis, permanent swimming pools built of brick, stone or concrete, septic tanks and terraces.

But they might try to argue that it's the result of subsidence, which excludes the following damage:

To gardens, lawns, patios, terraces, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, walls, fences, gates, drives, service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes, cables and central-heating oil tanks, unless your home is damaged as well

Flood damage would probably be the best route to use to try to get round that - you'd need to show that the wall was in perfectly good condition before the storm (policy definition: A specific, identified storm including strong winds in excess of 47 knots (54mph) that may include heavy rain, snow or sleet.)

If you argue that a perfectly good wall, in good condition, was simply washed away by the flow of water they may accept the claim.  There is a downside, though, in that they may reassess the flood risk for your particular property.

frank2020

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

I've looked at the standard Admiral policy wording, and the answer, I'm afraid, is a little less than certain.  Garden walls are theoretically covered:

Buildings: Your home including its permanent fixtures and fittings, central heating fuel storage tanks and drains, permanently connected pipes and cables, service tank, solar panels and wind turbines permanently fixed to the buildings or the ground, including its: drives, decking, fences, garden walls, gates, ground source heating pumps, hard tennis courts, paths, patios, permanently fixed hot tubs or jacuzzis, permanent swimming pools built of brick, stone or concrete, septic tanks and terraces.

But they might try to argue that it's the result of subsidence, which excludes the following damage:

To gardens, lawns, patios, terraces, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, walls, fences, gates, drives, service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes, cables and central-heating oil tanks, unless your home is damaged as well

Flood damage would probably be the best route to use to try to get round that - you'd need to show that the wall was in perfectly good condition before the storm (policy definition: A specific, identified storm including strong winds in excess of 47 knots (54mph) that may include heavy rain, snow or sleet.)

If you argue that a perfectly good wall, in good condition, was simply washed away by the flow of water they may accept the claim.  There is a downside, though, in that they may reassess the flood risk for your particular property.

Thank you very much for taking your time to look into that for me, very much appreciated. I will go with that approach and fingers crossed it's positive news. If not, at least the surveyor who comes out to look will be able to tell us what I need to do to repair it. Thanks

Doc_N

frank2020 said:

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

I've looked at the standard Admiral policy wording, and the answer, I'm afraid, is a little less than certain.  Garden walls are theoretically covered:

Buildings: Your home including its permanent fixtures and fittings, central heating fuel storage tanks and drains, permanently connected pipes and cables, service tank, solar panels and wind turbines permanently fixed to the buildings or the ground, including its: drives, decking, fences, garden walls, gates, ground source heating pumps, hard tennis courts, paths, patios, permanently fixed hot tubs or jacuzzis, permanent swimming pools built of brick, stone or concrete, septic tanks and terraces.

But they might try to argue that it's the result of subsidence, which excludes the following damage:

To gardens, lawns, patios, terraces, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, walls, fences, gates, drives, service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes, cables and central-heating oil tanks, unless your home is damaged as well

Flood damage would probably be the best route to use to try to get round that - you'd need to show that the wall was in perfectly good condition before the storm (policy definition: A specific, identified storm including strong winds in excess of 47 knots (54mph) that may include heavy rain, snow or sleet.)

If you argue that a perfectly good wall, in good condition, was simply washed away by the flow of water they may accept the claim.  There is a downside, though, in that they may reassess the flood risk for your particular property.

Thank you very much for taking your time to look into that for me, very much appreciated. I will go with that approach and fingers crossed it's positive news. If not, at least the surveyor who comes out to look will be able to tell us what I need to do to repair it. Thanks

No problem. I would be interested in the outcome though, once it’s resolved. Good luck.

frank2020

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

I've looked at the standard Admiral policy wording, and the answer, I'm afraid, is a little less than certain.  Garden walls are theoretically covered:

Buildings: Your home including its permanent fixtures and fittings, central heating fuel storage tanks and drains, permanently connected pipes and cables, service tank, solar panels and wind turbines permanently fixed to the buildings or the ground, including its: drives, decking, fences, garden walls, gates, ground source heating pumps, hard tennis courts, paths, patios, permanently fixed hot tubs or jacuzzis, permanent swimming pools built of brick, stone or concrete, septic tanks and terraces.

But they might try to argue that it's the result of subsidence, which excludes the following damage:

To gardens, lawns, patios, terraces, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, walls, fences, gates, drives, service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes, cables and central-heating oil tanks, unless your home is damaged as well

Flood damage would probably be the best route to use to try to get round that - you'd need to show that the wall was in perfectly good condition before the storm (policy definition: A specific, identified storm including strong winds in excess of 47 knots (54mph) that may include heavy rain, snow or sleet.)

If you argue that a perfectly good wall, in good condition, was simply washed away by the flow of water they may accept the claim.  There is a downside, though, in that they may reassess the flood risk for your particular property.

Thank you very much for taking your time to look into that for me, very much appreciated. I will go with that approach and fingers crossed it's positive news. If not, at least the surveyor who comes out to look will be able to tell us what I need to do to repair it. Thanks

No problem. I would be interested in the outcome though, once it’s resolved. Good luck.

Hi, bit of a long process, I still haven't had a definitive answer. Admiral have said the loss adjuster has advised it's a valid claim, but Admiral are waiting on a Scope of Works (or something like that) so I'm a little unsure where I stand at the minute. Hopefully I'll have a clear answer soon.

Doc_N

frank2020 said:

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Doc_N said:

frank2020 said:

Hi, thanks for replying.
My insurance is standard and to be honest I'm not sure what caused the damage. I think the substantial rainfall from the recent storm and the clay soil becoming heavier may have caused it. All I know is that it's happened during the last week (Strom Dennis) and it was showing no signs of wear and tear in the summer. Thank you

I've looked at the standard Admiral policy wording, and the answer, I'm afraid, is a little less than certain.  Garden walls are theoretically covered:

Buildings: Your home including its permanent fixtures and fittings, central heating fuel storage tanks and drains, permanently connected pipes and cables, service tank, solar panels and wind turbines permanently fixed to the buildings or the ground, including its: drives, decking, fences, garden walls, gates, ground source heating pumps, hard tennis courts, paths, patios, permanently fixed hot tubs or jacuzzis, permanent swimming pools built of brick, stone or concrete, septic tanks and terraces.

But they might try to argue that it's the result of subsidence, which excludes the following damage:

To gardens, lawns, patios, terraces, tennis courts, outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, walls, fences, gates, drives, service tanks, drains, septic tanks, pipes, cables and central-heating oil tanks, unless your home is damaged as well

Flood damage would probably be the best route to use to try to get round that - you'd need to show that the wall was in perfectly good condition before the storm (policy definition: A specific, identified storm including strong winds in excess of 47 knots (54mph) that may include heavy rain, snow or sleet.)

If you argue that a perfectly good wall, in good condition, was simply washed away by the flow of water they may accept the claim.  There is a downside, though, in that they may reassess the flood risk for your particular property.

Thank you very much for taking your time to look into that for me, very much appreciated. I will go with that approach and fingers crossed it's positive news. If not, at least the surveyor who comes out to look will be able to tell us what I need to do to repair it. Thanks

No problem. I would be interested in the outcome though, once it’s resolved. Good luck.

Hi, bit of a long process, I still haven't had a definitive answer. Admiral have said the loss adjuster has advised it's a valid claim, but Admiral are waiting on a Scope of Works (or something like that) so I'm a little unsure where I stand at the minute. Hopefully I'll have a clear answer soon.

Thanks for updating us. That sounds very promising if they see it as a valid claim. The next stage should just be a discussion as to what needs to be done to put the wall right. Everything's negotiable, within reason, so if their proposals seem unreasonable discuss it with them. With luck though you'll just get a quick and simple resolution.