Household Buildings Decision Reference 2020-0348

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Case Outcome: Rejected
• Date: 08 October 2020
• Year: 2020
• Conducts Complained Of: Rejection of claim - freezing or escape of or overflow of water or oil
• Finantial Sector: Insurance
• Reference: 2020-0348

Decision Ref:

2020-0348

Sector:

Insurance

Product / Service:

Household Buildings

Conduct(s) complained of:

Rejection of claim - freezing or escape of or

overflow of water or oil

Outcome:

Rejected

LEGALLY BINDING DECISION OF THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AND PENSIONS OMBUDSMAN

The Complainant holds a home insurance policy with the Provider that provides her with

Contents and All Risks cover in respect of her apartment.

The Complainant’s Case

The Complainant “got an infestation of silverfish in my apartment early last summer [2018]

which cost me a lot of expense in pest control and loss of furniture and possessions” and she

submitted a claim to the Provider.

Having reviewed the matter, the Provider wrote to the Complainant on 15 February 2019

to advise that it had declined her claim, a decision it upheld upon review the following

month, by way of letter dated 15 March 2019.

In this regard, the Provider advised the Complainant that her home insurance policy did not

include Buildings cover, which might have covered the cost of damage to the bathroom

ceiling and tiles. It also declined to cover the cost of pest control services in order to

eradicate the infestation and the damage to her contents as a result of the infestation, as

her policy did not provide cover for losses caused by vermin.

The Complainant considers that the Provider ought to cover the cost of pest control services

and the damage to her contents as a result of the infestation as the infestation itself

occurred due to an escape of water, “the proximate cause was the water damage and as

soon as the cause was identified I took action”.