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Cannot get insurance due to roof

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  • 19-01-2013 10:44am
    #1
    darkdubh
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,628 ✭✭✭


    We are currently in the final stages of closing a deal on a house which We've been in the process of buying since late September.It has caused us no end of stress not least the sellers taking their time in coming up with documents which has caused us to miss the deadline for mortage relief.Because the house is over 100 years old we had difficulty in finding an insurer.We finally found one who accepted us but wanted more information on the roof.In the meantime the sellers have finally gotten their finger out and have informed us that they can draw down the mortage in a weeks time.We got the info on the roof from the engineer and passed it on to the insurance company who have told us now because the roof has a dormer extension which makes the roof at least 70% flat and this roof extension is felt they won't now insure us.We weren't aware that felt roofs would be an issue.This has left us at our wit's end.Looking up a lot of insurance companys on the web a lot of them don't provide cover for houses over 100 years old and this issue with the roof now will exabrate the issue further.Can anyone reccomend a way around this or have experienced similar issues?


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    #2
    lynchieboy
    Registered Users Posts: 98 ✭✭lynchieboy


    Search for non standard construction home insurance and expect to pay double what a normal roof would cost, I reckon most people with flat roofs dont inform their insurance companies about them which will cause problems if there is ever a fire or accident. I live in an old factory house with a flat roof (I think its called a Portlaw roof because its in a bow shape) covered in felt, I had a policy with FBD for about 6 years before I realised I wasnt fully covered so when I rang them up and enquired they added another 100 euro to the policy probably because I was an existing customer but if I was a new one id say they would have refused me, there are specialist companies that will insure non standard houses but like everything it costs more.


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    #3
    delthedriver
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,958 ✭✭✭delthedriver


    darkdubh wrote: »
    We are currently in the final stages of closing a deal on a house which We've been in the process of buying since late September.It has caused us no end of stress not least the sellers taking their time in coming up with documents which has caused us to miss the deadline for mortage relief.Because the house is over 100 years old we had difficulty in finding an insurer.We finally found one who accepted us but wanted more information on the roof.In the meantime the sellers have finally gotten their finger out and have informed us that they can draw down the mortage in a weeks time.We got the info on the roof from the engineer and passed it on to the insurance company who have told us now because the roof has a dormer extension which makes the roof at least 70% flat and this roof extension is felt they won't now insure us.We weren't aware that felt roofs would be an issue.This has left us at our wit's end.Looking up a lot of insurance companys on the web a lot of them don't provide cover for houses over 100 years old and this issue with the roof now will exabrate the issue further.Can anyone reccomend a way around this or have experienced similar issues?

    Have you contacted a good Insurance Broker. They are worth their weight in gold, and can check the market in its entirety. Dealing with cheap price web based operation is fine provided, everything fits inside the boxes! Google Insurance Brokers in your area.


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    #4
    darkdubh
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,628 ✭✭✭darkdubh


    lynchieboy wrote: »
    Search for non standard construction home insurance and expect to pay double what a normal roof would cost, I reckon most people with flat roofs dont inform their insurance companies about them which will cause problems if there is ever a fire or accident. I live in an old factory house with a flat roof (I think its called a Portlaw roof because its in a bow shape) covered in felt, I had a policy with FBD for about 6 years before I realised I wasnt fully covered so when I rang them up and enquired they added another 100 euro to the policy probably because I was an existing customer but if I was a new one id say they would have refused me, there are specialist companies that will insure non standard houses but like everything it costs more.
    Ok,We'll look into that thank's.One thing that really annoys me is that the engineer never mentioned to us at any stage that getting insurance would be a problem with the roof type on this building.If we'd known we were going to come up against this brick wall we would have pulled out early.


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    #5
    Milk & Honey
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 1,950 ✭✭✭Milk & Honey


    darkdubh wrote: »
    Ok,We'll look into that thank's.One thing that really annoys me is that the engineer never mentioned to us at any stage that getting insurance would be a problem with the roof type on this building.If we'd known we were going to come up against this brick wall we would have pulled out early.

    How can a felt roof be a brick wall?


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    #6
    Victor
    Registered Users Posts: 78,404 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    Is it practical to have the roof changed. You would likely need planning permission.

    The engineer wouldn't necessarily know the ins and outs of the insurance.


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    #7
    StillWaters
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭StillWaters


    There is a reason flat roofs are hard to insure. They will almost certainly cause you stress and money over their considerably shorter life than a pitched roof.


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    #8
    Dayo93
    Registered Users Posts: 201 ✭✭Dayo93


    We had a similar issue when we purchased our house, most insurers wont cover if roof is greater than 25 or 30 %, Our roof was coming in at around 36 % . We got sorted with broker simplyinsure.ie, Was a real pain in the ass at the time


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    #9
    darkdubh
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,628 ✭✭✭darkdubh


    Dayo93 wrote: »
    We had a similar issue when we purchased our house, most insurers wont cover if roof is greater than 25 or 30 %, Our roof was coming in at around 36 % . We got sorted with broker simplyinsure.ie, Was a real pain in the ass at the time
    Nice one!Will give them a buzz Monday ,as well as a list of other insurance brokers as long as my arm.


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