Household Buildings Decision Reference 2026-0013

• Case Outcome: Rejected
• Year: 2026
• Reference: 2026-0013
• Date: 30 January 2026
• Subject Matter: Household Buildings
• Finantial Sector: Insurance
• Conducts Complained Of: Claim handling delays or issues

Decision Ref:

2026-0013

Sector:

Insurance

Product / Service:

Household Buildings

Conduct(s) complained of:

Claim handling delays or issues

Outcome:

Rejected

LEGALLY BINDING DECISION OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN

The Complainant held a Home Insurance Policy with the Provider from 9 October 2018 to

8 October 2021. The complaint concerns the Provider’s decision to decline the claim the

Complainant made on her policy in August 2020.

The Complainant’s Case

The Complainant’s Representative says that following a storm on 11 August 2020, damage

was sustained to the roof of the Complainant’s bungalow house.

The Complainant’s Representative says that the Complainant lodged a claim with the

Provider on 25 August 2020 and subsequently furnished it with a quote from a roofing

contractor for repairs in the amount of €32,211.00 (thirty-two thousand two hundred and

eleven Euros).

The Complainant’s Representative says that the Provider’s Loss Adjuster wrote to the

Complainant on 4 January 2021 to advise that it had declined the claim because it had

concluded that the damage that had been observed during a site inspection was the result

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/Cont’d…

of wear and tear, namely, roof tiles not sitting down correctly due to the warping of the

roof timbers over time and cracking to the lead valley between the porch and the main

house.

The Complainant’s Representative rejects the Loss Adjuster’s findings and asserts that the

damage to the Complainant’s property was caused by a once-off storm event.

The Complainant’s Representative submitted his own Report to the Provider on 26 April

2021 with photographs and advised that he had attended the Complainant’s property on

24 April 2021 and had been unable to identify any evidence of cracking or wear or tear to

the lead valley or locate the warped timbers referred to by the Loss Adjuster, and he

attached a new quote from a different roofing contractor, dated 9 April 2021, for repairs in

the amount of €17,501.70 (seventeen thousand five hundred and one Euros and seventy

Cents).

The Complainant’s Representative says that the Provider emailed him on 5 May 2021 to

advise that it was standing over its decision to decline the claim and that the Provider sent

its Final Response to the Complainant on 13 May 2021.

The Complainant’s Representative says that the Provider and its Loss Adjuster have not

furnished him with the information he has requested in relation to the location and extent

of the damage as indicated in the Loss Adjuster’s claim declinature letter of 4 January

2021.

The Complainant’s Representative also says, in his submission of 10 June 2021, that he

requested a joint meeting with the Loss Adjuster and/or Engineers, but that this was

declined.

The Complainant’s Representative sets out the Complainant’s complaint in the FSPO

Complaint Form he completed on her behalf, and which she signed in June 2021, as

follows:

“The complaint relates to [the Provider] declining the claim. It is a genuine storm

damage claim and settlement in the sum of €17,000 is required. [The Provider]

declined to agree various suggestions to try and resolve.

[The Complainant] obtained a Quotation from [name redacted] roofing contractor

for €17,501.70. It was my view it was slightly overstated but the figure quoted

would be a fair figure to cover internal damage as well”.