Hi Peeps
Recently I had a building insurance claim refused. The company stated that the defect was down to poor workmanship.
To explain the history in a nutshell. I purchased my property in May 2008. The house had been renovated before my purchase. In June/July 2009 during the heavy rains, my bay roof leaked and deposited much water in my lounge over a period of a few days. It was evident that the roof was included in the renovation by the new slates and leading.
To cut a long story short, the insurance company assessed it and refused the claim citing the above reason. They stated that I ought to contact the previous owner and ask them to make good the damage.
There had been no history of issues of this problem in the year that I have had this property and I could see the previous owner showing me the middle finger if I approached them. Since then I have arranged for some remedial work in order to get to a time I can get the problem fixed properly.
I really want to know, were the insurance company right in their assessment? Surely most building issues are down to some form of poor workmanship bar the usual factors of time, wear and tear.
Have I gone past a certain date where I can object to their refusal? I do apologise I have left it so late to get advice, but what prompted me today was that work colleague has just had major claim accepted due to her year old en suite water pipes bursting and bringing her ceiling down in her lounge.
I admit that the small print does state that they do not cover bad work, but this work wasnt undertaken by me, it was done previous to my ownership.
Your thougts and advise will be extremely appreciated.
Regards