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STORM RELATED INSURANCE CLAIMS

Storm related insurance claims

When a storm hits, it can cause chaos and devastation, and for some unfortunate homeowner’s extensive damage to their properties. Strong winds can blow roof tiles off and force trees over, lightning bolts can shatter glass, blow plaster and dislodge electrics and extreme rain can cause drains to back up.

When a storm hits, it can cause chaos and devastation, and for some unfortunate homeowner’s extensive damage to their properties. Strong winds can blow roof tiles off and force trees over, lightning bolts can shatter glass, blow plaster and dislodge electrics and extreme rain can cause drains to back up. 

Luckily, most property insurers will cover storm damage, but what exactly does your insurer class as a storm?

 

What exactly is a storm? 

This might sound like strange question with an obvious answer but one of the main reasons an insurer may dispute a claim for storm damage is because they may not think that a storm actually occurred. 

The Financial Ombudsman describes a storm as the following “We say that a storm generally involves violent winds, usually accompanied by rain, hail or snow. But in some cases, we may find there’s a storm without there being high winds. There are occasions where rain, hail, snowfall by itself can constitute storm. Any extreme form of bad weather has the potential to cause damage to a property.” 

This may sound perfectly reasonable but with no specifics it can be open to interpretation resulting in differing policy terms depending on who your insurer is. 

Your insurer may state that in order for weather to be classed as a storm, the wind must have reached a specified speed or that the weather must have reached a certain scale of wind intensity. Therefore, if you are considering making a storm damage claim you may well wish to check your insurance policy terms before doing so.

 

Was the storm the cause of the damage? 

Another reason why your insurer may dispute your claim, is if they believe that the storm didn’t actually cause the damage in the first place and the damage would have occurred anyway due to lack of maintenance. This is often why the condition of your property can be a deciding factor in the outcome of your claim.

 

How to prepare your property for future storms 

To avoid your risk of a future claim being rejected on we suggest regularly checking the roof of your property for any cracked, missing or loose tiles, ensure all guttering is clear of debris that can stop rainfall flowing away from your property and prune back any nearby overgrown trees.

 

Storm damage claim agreed? So, what next? 

Once you’ve established that your storm damage claim has been successful, you may be required to appoint a local reputable company to carry out the repairs. Here at Westone Housing we are experienced claim handlers and in addition to providing the highest standards of work we can also liaise with your loss adjuster directly making life a little easier for you. 

“Thank you for your very prompt service and how quickly you reacted to the storm damage. A very professional service that I would recommend to use in the future.”

Mr K October 2020 

We pride ourselves on our service which is why all of our customers receive a two-year warranty giving you peace of mind that you’re in safe hands.

 

Discuss your claim with Westone Housing 

If you would like to discuss your claim with a member of the Westone Housing team call us on 01733 320500 or visit www.westone.uk.com for further information.

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