Damp Information
Insurance Claims
Just a quick word on insurance claims.
Having produced many reports for insurance claims and having worked with clients in their endeavours to apply for compensation or reimbursements where damage has been caused by concealed water escapes such as a defective plumbing joint below a bath. Or where a tank has burst in the loft spilling water throughout the rooms of the property, these type of claims are usually accepted, allowing for all necessary remedial work that may include new plaster to ceilings and walls, fungicide treatment to floor timbers, damaged carpets and other fittings and furnishings and on occasion damage to the structure where said leaks have resulted in the outbreak of dry rot. However, claims are less successful in cases of damp problems caused by reasons considered by the insurance company as lack of maintenance such as condensation, blocked gutters and drains, holes in the roof, uncapped chimneys or defective flashings letting in rain, and rising damp where a dpc has failed or been bridged in some way. Unless of course it is the result of a neighbours lack of maintenance whereby his neglect has caused damage to your property and is reasonably beyond your control. Flood damage caused by burst mains water pipes from the street is usually claimable although it usually involves arguing with the local waterboard as to liability, and flood damage caused by rivers or tidal swells. Although since recent freak weather affecting properties in some areas such as Gloucestershire, on such an extensive scale people living in flood prone areas may find it difficult if not impossible to obtain this kind of insurance cover in the future without excessivly high premiums although by and large it would seem that current claims have in fact been met. So always check your policy conditions thoroughly when taking out new insurance, or indeed re-read existing ones just in case there are clauses that exempt you from situations you thought would ordinarily be covered.
