Storm Damage Insurance Claim Thread

Here is somewhere to post the damage photos and the stories of how they were dealt with.

Share tips on different insurance companies and how well they dealt with you. How you chose the people to repair the damage etc

I will start with:

Halifax Insurance – Phoned at 8am – “Our offices open at 9am but to speed things up, for storm damage you can proceed with up to £2,000 of repairs providing you are covered by your policy”
Now I am looking for a suitable builder to quote for clean up and repair. I suspect it will be more than £2,000 as the remaining bit of the wall is also damaged and I suspect it will all need removing and rebuilding along with the edge of the patio above.

Wish me luck and share your experiences please.

I joined an insurance company on 2/12/87, two weeks after the “Great Storm” on 16/11/87, and worked over time on my first day. And most of the next 6 years I think, as they moved me to cover Scotland!

Times have changed hugely since then, systems processes and staffing levels, but I guess getting tradesmen will be the biggest issue.

Just remember it’s a human being at the other end, probably young, not very well trained, not very well paid, and quite possibly trying to get a roofer themselves this week.

I know. I also try to be polite and understanding. I have design and tried to correct designs in the past for many of the computer systems they are trying to use. So often they are forced down a route that is wrong for the particular case they are dealing with and the customer gets frustrated.

Some progressive insurers use all sorts of digital claims management systems now. I know a few that even have an app you can download to take photos of the damage to upload to their system to speed up your claim.

Cool, but not much use if your insurer isn’t interested in digital transformation. Covid has accelerated the take up but as an industry is still very old fashioned.

With big storms like these they get a year’s worth of claims in the 2-3 days following the event. They cannot possibly send a loss adjuster to every location so they plan ahead. Part of the claims triage is to simply tell all small claims under a limit eg 2k, that you should pursue this yourself.

The big problem currently from their perspective is the series of wind claims, now flood claims and the continuing threat of further damage from the next storms. Water ingress will increase the claims considerably so it’s in their interest to settle quickly before your small roof claim turns into a much bigger one

Beware that they also have verification technology too so once all this calms down they’ll be looking for fraudulent claims. For example why has Derek in Wigan claimed for a new conservatory when the data suggests that the wind speed did not exceed 15m/s at that location.

Log the claim with them, take photos and clear it up.

Just wait for someone to quote, it’s not like it’s essential like your roof or anything and bound to cost more than £2k.

Remember you are entitled to appoint your own chartered surveyor to measure, tender and project manage your reinstatement works.
You are also entitled to use your own tradespeople as long as their quote for repair works is acceptable.
Finding your own surveyor and tradesmen will speed up your works as ‘network’ surveyors and contractors will be stowed out.

Log the claim with them, take photos and clear it up.

Just wait for someone to quote, it’s not like it’s essential like your roof or anything and bound to cost more than £2k.

This is what I am doing right now. Neighbours fence is down too so I am not Derek in Wigan 🙂

Just can’t tidy up my self at the moment as cast and bandage make it hard to pick up bricks and 4 broken ribs make bending over to do it a no-no anyway.

Is that not a fence made of glass OP, would you even be covered?

WCA, I am also in Southampton and also covered by Halifax.

We lost 7 ridge tiles, which took a bit of gutter out on the way down. I messaged the roofer. When I mentioned that claims under £2k could proceed – he was able to fit me it in this week.

… Even if the price is a bit inflated, I suspect it is still cheaper than the insurance company trying to fix it and getting it done quickly should hopefully prevent further damage.

They may well argue that the wall was not constructed to take the load of the fixing for the glass panels which look like they were retrofitted.

They probably won’t argue as they’re drowning under a sea of claims this week

Fences are generally not covered anyway; glass, wood, baby robins etc so unlikely to get a pay out for it.

Note, yes you can appoint your own surveyor and contractors etc but note, unless explicitly stated otherwise you still need to get the claim agreed by your insurer.

Oops WCA – that didn’t work out too well then, although it’s not really surprising TBH (putting all the twisting force onto a single 4.5″ joint – shame you didn’t fit into the concrete slab)

Greybeard had it pretty much spot on

Balustrade, not fence. Fixings designed for the job. The rest of the balustrade – about 30m – had no issue. Yes – shame there was no concrete slab but given it has taken down 4 courses of brick and the keys into the concrete, I would suggest it was firmly fixed and that it was exceptional weather rather than poor installation.

Neighbours fences are down too and a few trees in the area so I think there is supporting evidence.

And the glass didn’t break, fair to assume the rest of the installation was up to the job if the glass was spec’d well.

Yes – shame there was no concrete slab but given it has taken down 4 courses of brick and the keys into the concrete, I would suggest it was firmly fixed and that it was exceptional weather rather than poor installation.

I don’t think people are suggesting that the fixings have failed. You can see from the photo that they have held on to the courses of bricks that they were fitted to. Just the thing they were fitted to (mortar bound courses of bricks) was an inappropriate thing to fix to. Mortar joints have no tensile strength.

That balustrade was unsafely designed, but better to blow over in a storm, than with somebody leaning on it.

Agree that it was the mortar joints that failed. The bolts going through three layers of bricks and across two of mortar with the wall tied into, and supported but the concrete patio to support it were considered suitable. The low fall height and lack of real use of the area meant ant risk of injury was small. Where it had been possible to inspect the lower wall construction – near the corner by the garage, it was well built and considered suitable.

Like the guys at the O2 who had their roof ripped off, I am going to put it down to extreme weather that exposed the weakness rather than a weakness that was inherent within normal, or expected levels of normality.

Fair enough. Hope the insurance pays out for you.

Pictures sent to insurance.

2 builders from ‘mybuilder.com’ have registered to provide a quote. Also tried CheckaTrade but there were none shown as Southampton which surprised me.

with the wall tied into, and supported but the concrete patio to support it

I’m not sure how you thought that the 4.5″ brick (no row of headers) was tied into the concrete, but the fact that it’s blown over doesn’t show that to be the case.
Anyway, hope all goes will with the insurance/rebuild – at least the glass didn’t break!

2 builders from ‘mybuilder.com’ have registered to provide a quote.

£1995 I bet

Good job on fixing the glass to the bricks, and I’m impressed that the glass doesn’t seem affected at all

Automated message on First Direct claim line saying that storm damage not covered.

… for “fences, gates and hedges”

Neighbour just popped round to say she found a piece of our downpipe in her garden. I’ve just checked and mine has slipped down and it just needs pushing back up and tightening, nothing missing, so if anyone is missing a small length of downpipe I might have it

My folks will be putting in a fairly large claim before too long.

This is one of 3 cars that have drowned. I might suggest they buy a boat next time.

I got an automated txt from Direct Line saying just apply on line as they’re swamped with phone calls. Luckliy other than a load of shrubs damaged and the neighbour’s parasol on our kitchen roof, we’re unscathed.

Missing some ridge tiles off the roof. Roofer says try insurance to get a dry fix system to prevent moss dislodging them again in the future. Will see what insurance says in the morning.

2 Builders coming around to quote tomorrow. One in the morning and one the afternoon. It will be interesting to hear what they say.

Also – any views on reusing any of the glass panels that are not chipped on the edges?

Will the glass be weakened or more prone to stress fractures or shattering?

It will make a big difference to the cost of the claim but I don’t want to re-use it if it is liable to break the first time it gets tapped

WCA – I’m a surveyor and set up my own company last year – based not a million miles away from you. Amongst other things, the majority of my work is insurance reinstatement projects.

If you don’t get a good vibe from the builders tomorrow, let me know as I can put you in touch with a few local contractors who will be able to help.