Dear All

Has the Insurance world gone mad or do computers rule the minds of many. I have just noticed that my roof has started to brake up in area's, mainly around the ridge tile area which has caused damage in many parts. I phoned my Insurance company and told them,

1. The ridge tiles have come away and there is water coming through when the snow is melting.
   
2. There is water around area's of electrical connecters and the loft insulation is wet.
   
3. The felt in the loft is wet and has started to come away and the timber is very wetas well.
   

I have explained the points above and was told that although my insuarance booklet says Storm cover, snow is not a storm because it never had winds of 60mph plus. After looking at my booklet it does not say anything about speed of what kind of storm weather is or is not covered.

Has anyone ever had any problems with this kind of claim. The best part of all this was when the lady said that her computer said, we havent had any snow in kent since December 20th 09. I had to run to the toilet at this point where i was laughing so much I nearly ****** myself. I have been through my policy many times now and it does not say anywhere that I'm not covered by snow damage.

Hi and welcome to CAG

I will move your post to where it will get a better response

It is a good few years since I dealt with home insurance claims (we didn't even have computers then, apart from the ones in the basement that were about 10 square feet each!) but I don't suppose the principles have changed much.

It sounds as if the damage to your roof has been caused over quite a long period judging by how wet the insulation/timbers are. As such, it is more likely to be wear and tear than storm damage and the snow melting has really just highlighted the problem. How old is the roof?

The roof is 33 years old, but had been checked 7 years ago when we was buying the house and it was in very good condition. After looking on a website, it's does say that due to long periods of cold weather render, cement and roads can be damaged and break up. I do accept that wear and tear could be a possiable answer, but they will not even send someone out to look to make sure this could be the cause. Thank you for your reply.

It depends on the wording of your policy if long periods of cold weather would be covered any more than wear and tear. Usually cover is for storm damage, and by definition storm involves high winds.