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insurance that gives you peace of mind.
EVERY DAY MATTERS
Yes, having insurance should give us peace of mind - but with Legal and General it has given us anything but. They have turned down a claim for water ingress due to storm damage to our flat roof from two storms, one in January and the other at the end of March.
And this was after previously accepting it; but they now say the weather was calm from March through to June and that we had plenty of time to get it fixed.
That's not true; it was anything but, and I am looking for justice as the roofers replaced our roof as soon as they possibly could: on 6th July. Help, please. Can you remember the bad weather then? We need plenty of corroboration as L&G have simply stated that their decision is final despite evidence to the contrary.
The Met Office cites a storm at the end of March, with slightly calmer weather beginning in the third week of April, although it was still generally showery. May was considerably better although the third week was unsettled, as was most of June.
So, this very important question: do you remember what the weather was like between April and June? Here is a photo taken in Hampshire on 22nd June, when the average rainfall for the whole of June fell in under two days.
However, Legal and General declare that the weather was calm from March onwards, saying we failed to mitigate the damage. But roofing contractors can't work in the rain and they had a lot of work to catch up with. They did our roof as soon as they possibly could.
Declined - Accepted - Declined
We had two household claims: one for damage to the kitchen ceiling due to faulty shower sealant in the bathroom above, and the other for water ingress caused by storm damage to our flat roof.
A contracted surveyor came at the beginning of July, immediately after we had had the roof fixed - and turned both claims down. He said there was no evidence that there was any damage to the roof, so there was no claim. Of course there wasn't; we had just had it fixed and we couldn't make a claim until we had done so.
He then said the kitchen ceiling damage was not covered under the policy, but I wrote to the company, referring to the policy document which clearly states that leakage through faulty sealant is covered - and they reversed their decision.
At the same time they accepted the claim for the storm damage as I had "mitigated any further damage by having the roof replaced."
Water ingress doesn't happen immediately
The thing to remember is that it is not possible to make water ingress claims immediately anyway, as water takes time to seep through, a fact seemingly ignored by the very people who should know: the independent surveyors employed by L&G.
This claim must be settled! L&G won't admit when they are wrong
So here is a case where insurers refuse to acknowledge that they are wrong. I wrote to them by Recorded Delivery on 9th September, explaining to them why their decision was completely unacceptable; but they failed to reply. It was only because I was able to talk to a member of staff about the other claim that I discovered that their letter was final.
This is a very clear case of Might is Right; but I say justice should be done and should appreciate your support.
- Please comment on your recollections of the weather between March and June.
- I should also appreciate comments on any similar experiences you may have had.
Cheaper to Self-insure
The accepted claim for the kitchen ceiling and the declined one had a repair estimate of about £1,300, far less than our premiums over the ten years we have been with Legal and General. And now they have increased our premiums by 20% and imposed a £250 excess on any future claims - despite turning the bigger claim down.
LET'S HAVE JUSTICE
