[Misc] Claiming on house insurance - should we?

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Our roof leaked over Christmas. Water was coming through the ceiling. The upshot is that we'll need c. £5k of repairs.

My wife thinks we should put in an insurance claim. I think they'll rake it all back in increased premiums and penalise us for the rest of our lives (this is my belief about all insurance for some reason).

Does anyone on NSC know what really happens? It's a lot of dough, and presumably why I've been paying for instance for 35 years.

Your advice, as ever, much appreciated.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Yes. PM me, though I’ll reply tomorrow

 

[timbha]

Insurance coy will probably say roof damage is wear and tear

 

[Norman Potting]

Our roof leaked over Christmas. Water was coming through the ceiling. The upshot is that we'll need c. £5k of repairs.

My wife thinks we should put in an insurance claim. I think they'll rake it all back in increased premiums and penalise us for the rest of our lives (this is my belief about all insurance for some reason).

Does anyone on NSC know what really happens? It's a lot of dough, and presumably why I've been paying for instance for 35 years.

Your advice, as ever, much appreciated.

If it was me I would claim. Never a good time for it to happen, least of all at Christmas.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

If you’re not going to claim why bother having it

 

[ManOfSussex]

What's your escape of water excess?

 

[Weststander]

Definitely claim, you won’t be unduly ‘penalised’ for one claim. You’ve paid premiums in case this moment came.

The occasions where we did pay a price with huge premium loading in subsequent years, followed multiple genuine claims for broken iPads and iPhones. Lesson learnt!

 

[beorhthelm]

this is rather the purpose of insurance. yes, there will be increase premiums though only moderatly in my experience, and you can go elsewhere if think they're taking the piss.

 

[jcdenton08]

I just hope your brand new Mac, priceless art collection, PS5 and Persian rug weren’t damaged

 

[warmleyseagull]

Claim. Nothing to lose.

A charity of which I am trustee had water damage. Claim = £5m. Premium £300k increased to £350k on renewal.

 

[Justice]

If you’re not going to claim why bother having it

This, what’s worse shelling out £5K plus or a slightly higher premium next year.

 

[LamieRobertson]

That amount of damage …has to be a claim (successful or not is another matter)…£500 then I probably wouldn’t

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

What's your escape of water excess?

Sound like a doctor

 

[ManOfSussex]

Sound like a doctor

I wish. I did however work for an insurance company until April of this year on the house insurance side of things. I'd just consider all bases before thinking about a claim, particularly with the increased cost of insurance claims and the impact that's going to put on providers. Apart from subsidence, escape of water is normally a higher excess than a standard claim for a reason.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

We claimed for water escape on the main pipe coming into the house. Our floor is concrete so it had seeped to a metre perimeter from the pipe. The kitchen units were old (not plastic legs) so the bases had blown on two of them. The slate floor needed ripping up, asbestos found, and treated, new floor tiles and complete new kitchen units. This was November 2021, with work finally finished in April 2022. Our premium hasn’t gone up, renewed in June, and the kitchen looks wonderful.
It was very stressful at the time especially when asbestos was found, but the loss adjuster and insurance were great. We’re insured with Nationwide, who are underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance. Our excess was £350.

 

[drew]

Insurance coy will probably say roof damage is wear and tear

That may be excluded but the water damage inside should be ok. Also, depends what the damage to the roof is. Could be a tile dislodged in storm. Unlikely just to be wear and tear.

 

[Boroseagull]

I realise this is not your case, but the position of insurance companies in Spain regarding water damage is - if it comes through the roof it's your problem (except caused by lightning strike), however if it comes in at ground level it's our problem.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

I have claimed for every insured damage to my houses for 50 years. Rebuilt a garage, 3 replacement kitchen ceilings, one replacement kitchen, couple of carpets and this year a modest £750 worth of roof repairs following storm damage. It's why I have insurance. No discernible increase to my premiums following any claims. I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't claim in full. Think it through. Even if your premiums went up by a massive £500 per year, which they won't, it would take 10 years to repay £5k. And you would have changed to a cheaper insurer long before the decade is up.

 

[Rugrat]

We claimed (burglary) 3 years ago and it didn't impact our premiums

Our roof leaked over Christmas. Water was coming through the ceiling. The upshot is that we'll need c. £5k of repairs.

My wife thinks we should put in an insurance claim. I think they'll rake it all back in increased premiums and penalise us for the rest of our lives (this is my belief about all insurance for some reason).

Does anyone on NSC know what really happens? It's a lot of dough, and presumably why I've been paying for instance for 35 years.

Your advice, as ever, much appreciated.

 

[robinsonsgrin]

am in same boat... roof leak.. did wonder about seeking any advice from here so did chuckle that the thread was already here. all been v stressful...never a good time of year for it, but few days before xmas shutdown was not ideal...