Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The felt on our dormer roof was ripped off in the storm a week past Friday. Water has been getting in to the bathroom through the light fitting (considerable amounts whenever it rains) and also seeping down into the dining room ceiling (cosmetic damage only). The assessors have just phoned to say the whole claim is invalidated because the felt wasn't fixed correctly. He took photographs of it and passed it to his technical team and this is their opinion. I am absolutely furious. What can I do? I will call the roofers (who are reputable and fixed the same roof years ago after storm damage) and see if they can verify that they DID fit the felt correctly. Can I demand a second opinion? Is there any point? He says the wind was about 57mph that night. Where is that measured? Our garden is extremely exposed and we get massive wind gusts whenever there's a storm. HELP! Anyone got any experience / advice? I could cry - in fact I am . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Just a quick post to say please don't cry! Will see if I can come up with anything useful. Just Hugs for now, H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 For historical wind speeds - try http:// http://www.wunderground.com/history/ H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 first did they say why they didn't think it was fixed right.they will base that on industry best practice and recommended fixing details from the felt manufactures and building regs. if they say that the felt was only nailed on like a shed roof then it wasn't fitted properly for a dwelling secoundly you can get your own isurance assessors who should work on your behalf to get you the best deal for the claim as opposed to the lost adjuster that worked for the insurance company and have save as much as possible from the claim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyhole kate Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The felt on our dormer roof was ripped off in the storm a week past Friday. Water has been getting in to the bathroom through the light fitting (considerable amounts whenever it rains) and also seeping down into the dining room ceiling (cosmetic damage only). The assessors have just phoned to say the whole claim is invalidated because the felt wasn't fixed correctly. He took photographs of it and passed it to his technical team and this is their opinion. I am absolutely furious. What can I do? I will call the roofers (who are reputable and fixed the same roof years ago after storm damage) and see if they can verify that they DID fit the felt correctly. Can I demand a second opinion? Is there any point? He says the wind was about 57mph that night. Where is that measured? Our garden is extremely exposed and we get massive wind gusts whenever there's a storm. HELP! Anyone got any experience / advice? I could cry - in fact I am . I think there simply trying it on this really iritates me In your shoes I would 1. In writing inform your insurers you intent to have an independant assesment carried out the cost of which you will be claiming against them. Ask what relevance there is to the wind speed? the damage occured due to the wind surely the speed is irrelevant.? was it too windy ? not windy enough ? 3.Request copies of any correspondence between assessor and their technical team surely someone would need to make a physical inspection rather than from photographs. 4. Inform them you intend to raise this matter with the Insurance Ombudsman if the claim is not resolved to your satisfaction. They give advice on how to resolve complaints which you should do before they take up your claim http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk Hope this is of help good luck keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 Thanks everyone, I'm calming down now and preparing my "Ooops, word censored!"nal . All your advice is very useful . 1. I've asked the roofer to come and see me tomorrow. 2. We have a friend who is a loss adjuster (although OH isn't keen to involve a friend .) 3. I intend to phone Direct Line tomorrow and say I'm not accepting the assessor's judgement and will follow that up in writing (good idea!). This is proof that it was a little bit windy that day . We live 2 miles from there and our garden looks onto those hills with no shelter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchanted Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Sorry (but unsurprised) to hear insurers avoiding payouts. I once read that some companies have a policy to refuse claims outright on initial contact but then pay up when you go back and challenge them and threaten to involve other agencies like the media (eg BBC Watchdog) or Citizen Advice or as already suggested the Ombudsman services. Please take a deep breath in (and slowly out) and prepare for battle. You know you are in the right. Firstly if the repair had been faulty or not fit for purpose how come its only just happened and been fine (for however long) Secondly if the insurers paid the roofer for the previous repair why did they not check it was up to standard. You are not responsible for checking the repair unless you know what you're looking for, surely. If you acted in good faith then you expect the roofer and the insurers to act accordingly. If they can prove that the workmanship was shoddy though, then you have to claim from the roofer which may be more hassle. Both my OH and myself have had many tussles with insurance over the years and it doesn't get any easier, we feel for you. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newcountrygirl Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Good luck - don't let it get you down. We had a problem with our insurers last year. We purchased a Grade II listed cottage and after trying various insurers and getting nowhere used Axa who had insured it previously. I answered every question they asked me truthfully and told them we were only living there part of the week as there was no heating and we were busy renovating it. The week after Xmas we arrived to find we had been broken into and all our decorating stuff had been pinched including would you believe it? the coal shovel. I informed the company who said we had not told them that it wouldnt be fully occupied - which I took issue with and eventually they did agree to pay up. Then the fun started - they wanted to give us replacements for the things we had had stolen - but at their choosing and not necessarily the quality of the things we had lost. in the end we cancelled the claim. I decided that when the renewal came up we would change companies - even though a lot of the quotes we had were quite a lot dearer. I'm glad we did cos a few months before the renewal date we got a new lawn tractor. When I rang them to make sure we were covered on our policy - they said NO you will have to get it insured on a car type policy separately. I switched to NFU the policy was slightly dearer but everything is covered and I can sleep better just knowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Vicki, this is terrible, have never had to deal with this kind of thing before so can only send you and hope that it all works out . Alli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Good luck. Keep strong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarrensWorld Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Was it a flat roofed dormer?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickendoodle Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 You have 2 courses of action 1. Go back to the Insurance Company and ask them where in the policy wording there is an exclusion under storm damage for faulty workmanship. There will usually be an exclusion for lack of maintenance but this is not the same thing. If there is no such exclusion then they cannot turn down the claim and they will have to pay it and recover their costs from the builders. 2. If they have valid grounds for turning down the claim ask them to put it in writing why they think the felt was fitted incorrectly (if you ask nicely they may let you have copies of the adjuster's photos). You will then have to put a claim in against the builders. They will have liability insurance for this sort of thing so don't feel bad about doing this. I would be wary about appointing a Loss Assessor (a friend is OK if he will do it for free) as a Loss Assessor will charge you a percentage of your claim settlement as his fee. Good luck - I think you will probably have to end up claiming via your builder's insurance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 I knew I'd get loads of useful advice on here . It's better than the Citizens Advice Bureau . Warrensworld, yes, it is a flat dormer roof which I know are notorious for damage. Nowhere does it say it's not covered by the insurance though. Chickendoodle, I've spoken to the insurers who are sending out another assessor. I've also spoken to my roofer who isn't surprised, they've had dealings with the first assessor before . He is going to come along when the next assessor comes out (who won't know another assessor has been already). The roofer says there's no way that guy could tell how the felt was fixed after it's been ripped off and in any case, it was somebody looking at photographs who decided that . He reckons there will be no problem getting the claim validated and he can provide 2 or 3 roofers to back it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Jane Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 It all sounds horrible complicated, hope it is sorted out soon for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Good for you ANH, go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoxy Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Firstly, sending you a BIG, keep strong (((((((((HUG)))))))))))) Slightly off-track... I spent almost a year fighting a well known sofa supplier...a couple of trips to the CAB and a few letters written, online court proceedings issued. The day they received the paperwork I got a very panicky phone call left on my answerphone from the very Manager I had asked to remove the sofas the day they were delivered. We got a full refund and they willingly paid the online court fee and best of all the sofas were removed I just couldn't let it go as I am sure you wont...it would be criminal to let them to get away with it...GO FOR IT is my advice Sorry can't give you any concrete advice Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 Thanks, Snoxy . They're gonna wish they hadn't started this . I've been with them for 6 years and not made a single claim and this is the way they treat my first ever claim . I've gone through a whole range of feelings from disbelief to tearful to angry to vengeful . I'm currently printing out these pages as proof that we had storm force winds on that day. http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/225925-hillend-closed-after-high-winds-cause-damage/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12362278 http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/23degrees/2011/02/violent_storm_heading_towards.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoxy Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I've gone through a whole range of feelings from disbelief to tearful to angry to vengeful[/url] I know how you are feeling...I felt exactly the same...and nearly threw the towel in a few times...but it was the injustice that kept me going...Mr Snox just wanted me to leave it...but I was so determined...and it was sheer determination that I believe won the day! It is going through it all that is the hard bit...but the end result WILL BE such a good feeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickendoodle Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 As you might have guessed I work in insurance (and have done for over 30 years). I currently work at a brokerage dealing with farm insurance. We are near Eastbourne and can have very peculiar weather due to the South Downs being around us. We had a freak snow storm in April one year which caused some damage to one of our client's houses. Insurance companies get their weather reports from the nearest weather centre - in our case some 6 miles inland where the weather can be completely different. I had the response that the claim was being declined as it had not snowed that day - tell that to my boss who was stuck in the snow for 2 hours! We had to print off the pages from our local BBC website which had extensively reported the snow and the claim was paid. We now keep a folder of BBC local weather reports if we have say unusally strong winds one day as they can be pecularily local. Unfortunately the met office weather stations are the only records Insurers tend to use. In my experience they are happy to accept local weather related reports so you should not have any problems with this. Once this is all done I would suggest that you write an official letter complaining about the first adjuster, particularly if the builders have come across him before. The adjusters are independent and are paid a considerable fee by the insurance companies to deal with their claims and the insurers would not want their reputation damaged. If he is as bad as he seems they will simply not use that firm any more. We have complained about particular adjusters in the past and the insurers have taken them off their panel and used someone else. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I hope you manage to get it all sorted, so frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Direct Line I stopped insuring my car with them for similar reasons, some little brats sorry children/teens bounced bricks off the roof of my car within hours of me driving off the garage forecourt, direct line did every they could not to pay for the repair. I dont suppose its just them, insurance companies are quick enough to take your money, I hope evrything settles well for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddie Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Direct Line are ****** unprintable words.... We've had a spat with them in the past, and went to hell and back but won damages and had a negative court outcome overturned. They are Uselss and horrible. Stand your ground, and write down everyy phone call, time date ,who you talked to, and copy everything, I did and it served us well. Good luck, and go get'em girl!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted February 14, 2011 Author Share Posted February 14, 2011 I've been avoiding mentioned the name but you won't be surprised to hear it's Direct Line . The assessor is coming tomorrow (and my roofer is on standby to be there too ). Turns out it's the company our friend works for so I might just mention his name . A personal connection is no bad thing, I reckon. Strangely, Direct Line have been bending over backwards to help when my car was slightly damaged by a delivery van (the same day the roof blew off ). I'm hoping to get the money direct from the van company but DL have been very helpful . Pity that doesn't extend to my home insurance . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 You are so brave to be tackling this - good luck Alli xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Go for it! Hope you can get it sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
