# Does insurance cover leaking roof



## gabsdot (9 Aug 2008)

Our roof is leaking. Right down though my son's bedroom onto the living room floor. Will the house insurance cover repairing this? It's wear and tear rather than 'a tree fell on it' . I think I know the answer but thought I'd ask anyway


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## ClubMan (9 Aug 2008)

Probably not. As you say it's a wear and tear/maintenance issue and most home insurance policies will exclude cover for such issues. Read your policy terms & conditions though just to check.


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## allthedoyles (9 Aug 2008)

Dont think roof is covered , as for some reason its not seen as part of house construction. Go for a different claim , like chimey .leaking , smoke , flue problem etc . get quote from reputable chimney fixer for repairs . etc


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## Ed054 (10 Aug 2008)

Hi I am a Loss Assessor and I have handled a lot of claims like this
Depending on what caused the leak it is probably covered.

Ed


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## ClubMan (10 Aug 2008)

Ed054 said:


> Hi I am a Loss Assessor and I have handled a lot of claims like this
> Depending on what caused the leak it is probably covered.
> 
> Ed


Would it be normal for leaks due to wear and tear or lack of maintenance to be covered? I thought not.


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## Ed054 (10 Aug 2008)

Leaks due to wear and tear or lack of maintenance are not covered.
However if this is the first time that it has happened and the roof is in good condition there should be no reason why it would not be covered.


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## z105 (10 Aug 2008)

Yes, people I know have recently had a successful claim off their insurance policy in this instance - 



> However if this is the first time that it has happened and the roof is in good condition there should be no reason why it would not be covered


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## gabsdot (13 Aug 2008)

Thanks for all your responses.


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## AB74 (16 Aug 2008)

Whilst damage to the roof itself _may_ be excluded due to wear and tear, the subsequent damage caused to contents / internal of property should be covered by storm damage / flood sections of house insurance policy. 

If the house / roof is relatively new the wear and tear argument does not hold water ( no pun intended )


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## Lollyflash (19 Nov 2008)

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone knows if normal home insurance policies cover leaking (and dodgy) roofs that are basically leaking because of bad workmanship? We bought a red brick terraced house last year and paid to have it completely renovated. The main roof is fine (we did not replace or change it) but we had to put a whole new roof on the extension of the house as the old one was rotting and in poor condition. The roof is technically a flat roof (but at a bit of an angle) with a roof garden deck built over it (this was allowed as there was a rood garden there for 30 years prior to us buying it so we just had it all rebuilt in the same way but from scratch).

Basically the overall house project turned into a nightmare and we paid in full and the builder (a "friend") took our money and did not finish the job and we have had to pay already to redo many parts of the house. So we had some leaks coming in from the roof into the kitchen in 3 different areas so there is staining, mold, etc. It turns out that the builder did not know what he was doing I think and he did a terrible job so we were negotiating to try and get him to get someone qualified to fix it and we were trying to avoid legal action (although we had consulted a solicitor and we had a clear contract). Anyway, in a very unfortunate turn of events the builder actually died a few months ago so that has put an obvious end to us pursuing anything. He worked for himself so was not part of a company and his wife is (was) a friend of mine so we will obviously not pursue the issues further with her.

However, we are left with a leaking, shoddy roof and we had two trusted friends who are roofers that live and work in the country come look at it to try and fix it and they said it is a horrific job and cannot just be patched up. They already put a velux into it for us as the builder had just left a hole boarded up instead of finishing it and the velux is the only area that is *not* problematic. The roofers have said that the whole roof needs to be redone to correct all the issues that are there and they suggested claiming on our home insurance. I have looked at our policy though and it seems unclear? Our roof is less that 1 year old and we paid in full in good faith to have it well constructed so if there are these issues now surely we should be covered?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.


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## Willowchase (20 Nov 2008)

'Fraid not. No insured peril operated.


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