Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Allied World Assurance Company (Europe) dac

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S and Mr T claimed for damage to their rental property roof, allegedly caused by storm around 12 December 2024, but did not notify their insurer until end of April 2025, approximately 4 months later. The damage had already been repaired by the time of notification. Allied declined the claim, citing both insufficient evidence that storm was the dominant cause of damage and breach of the 30-day notification requirement. The ombudsman upheld the decline, finding that photographs and the roof's condition (moss coverage, aged slates, patch repair) indicated wear and tear rather than storm as the main cause, and that the delayed notification prevented Allied from inspecting the damage and prejudiced its position.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FOS three-question test for storm damage: (1) did storm conditions occur on or around the date of damage - answered yes with caution; (2) is the damage consistent with typical storm damage - answered yes; (3) was storm the main or dominant cause - answered no. The ombudsman found that the vague date of the event, the patch repair nature, moss coverage, aged slates, and underlying roof condition indicated wear and tear rather than storm as the dominant cause. The delay in notification (4 months versus required 30 days) also prejudiced Allied's ability to inspect the damage. Therefore, the claim was fairly declined on the basis that no insured peril was evidenced.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website