fallen gutters from snow and ice, ...."act of god"?

Tedious Bore

half the guttering has collapsed and fallen from our house.

would anyone know whether this kind of thing is generally covered,
.....or does it just come under "acts of god" in the small print?

Mathiasb

Tedious Bore wrote: »

half the guttering has collapsed and fallen from our house.

would anyone know whether this kind of thing is generally covered,
.....or does it just come under "acts of god" in the small print?

Well, it depends. Does the fine print mention which god they refer to? I hear there are many of them!

Twin-go

Mathiasb wrote: »

Well, it depends. Does the fine print mention which god they refer to? I hear there are many of them!

Or none.....

deman

Wouldn't think it would be classed as an act of god. Shoddy materials or workmanship if you ask me.

Mort5000

Only your insurer can answer this.

Kennie1

Probably is covered but your policy excess (usually between 125 and 500) would probably be more than the cost of repairing the guttering. Get a local handy man to give you a price. This happened to my house at the beginning of the year and got it fixed for 100 euro!

Tedious Bore

was told 700-800 to repair.

could be wrong, but don't think it was shoody materials/workmanship. gutters just became packed with layers of ice which expanded maybe. they cracked before falling.

will get onto the insurance soon

daigo75

Regarding the issue you had, I think it could be due to the snow sliding down from the roof. In the house where I live now I had a similar problem, the snow on the roof froze and when the sun heated it up it started melting, eventualling sliding down in one huge block. Gutters resisted, but the satellite receiver got cracked.

Where I come from the snow is expected every year, and we have snow stoppers on the roof that will prevent big blocks of snow and ice from sliding down (see picture). Maybe it could be worth checking if they can be installed, it could prevent the same issue in the future.

Keith186

Should be covered no problem of yhr gutters were maintained to a reasonable standard in the first place.
If they say no, check your all risks section and if falling snow/ice is not excluded claim under that section.

Tedious Bore

daigo75 wrote: »

Regarding the issue you had, I think it could be due to the snow sliding down from the roof. In the house where I live now I had a similar problem, the snow on the roof froze and when the sun heated it up it started melting, eventualling sliding down in one huge block. Gutters resisted, but the satellite receiver got cracked.

Where I come from the snow is expected every year, and we have snow stoppers on the roof that will prevent big blocks of snow and ice from sliding down (see picture). Maybe it could be worth checking if they can be installed, it could prevent the same issue in the future.

looks cheap and simple. interesting. thanks

daigo75

Tedious Bore wrote: »

looks cheap and simple. interesting. thanks

Glad to know it could be helpful.

It *is* cheap and simple, and also extremely logical. The same for winter tyres, snow chains and snow socks, all of which, I've been told, are not available for sale in Ireland as "not regulated" (or something like that). And let's not forget the winter diesel, which also seems to be unknown... Better to stop here, before I go into "full rant mode". :P

Moycullen1

This is a topical issue in the insurance world at the moment. I know of one company refusing to cover this damage on the basis that it is not considered a storm related peril. In relation to Acts Of God not being covered this is a bit of a myth derived from old insurance contracts. Many modern policies cover common acts of god such as storm fire and flood.

As mentioned the policy wording and inclusions and exclusions are very important and these can vary hugely from company to company. Also remember to check if the all risks or accidental damage feature applies to the buildings and not to contents only.

oldyouth

Agree with Moycullen 1.

Insurers are trying to wriggle out of paying, stating that 'snow damage' is not a stated insured peril. Royal Sunalliance were the 1st to attempt this with me. However, they can only argue that with a Fire & Perils policy and not a full Accidental Damage (All Risks) policy, as the exact causes do not have to be specified here.

Once the gutters were in good nick previously, it is 'sudden and unforeseen' damage and they will be obliged to pay up. However, watch them close off this with an amended policy wording shortly, which will apply from the subsequent renewal date of your policy.