Good State Of Repair

[Bazile]

What would be an insurance company's definition of a house being in a ' good state of
repair ' ?

[brainiac]

From the GoCompare site:

Good state of repair
A property in a good state of repair is one without structural problems. Your property is not considered to be in a good state of repair if it has dry rot, rot or infestation requiring timber or window replacement, damp, roof or chimney stack damage, faulty wiring or incomplete construction.

[barry1010]

They are not interested in the state of the decorating or furnishings, or an overgrown garden.
Anything that affects the structure of the house does bother them - that would include mould, leaks, cracks that are more than superficial or relatively new.

[Peter Pedant]

jesus you are not alone in this

https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/legal/guidance/what-is-the-appropriate-standard-of-repair

I cant bring myself to read it - a mess is a mess, and if it is a tenant, get them out and do it yourself. ( always the least loss course of action)

[Bazile]

What would happen if a claim was made on a property and the insurers decided that the property was not in a good state of repair ?

[Peter Pedant]

loss adjuster comes round ( on commission )
and sucks in his teef
and says gore blimey fooday arent gonna pay for dis

and you come to some sort of deal, and he gets a cut on what is saved

there is a good case for slitting the throats of all loss adjusters

[davebro]

Maybe they could refuse to pay OR if the property was put back to a better condition than it was originally (because it couldn't be repaired any other way) then reduce the payout by an element of "betterment".

[Bazile]

So would the insurer cancel the insurance policy if they deemed that the house is not in a good state of repair ?

[davebro]

It would only come to light when/if a claim was made.

If the property burnt to the ground and an investigation showed that the electric wiring was dangerous and had caused the fire I don't think they would be inclined to pay out.

[chelle7272]

The insurer wouldn't know until a claim occurred, but if bad repair was the cause, of part of it, then they would be unlikely to pay out.

[Peter Pedant]

Dave ( dont listen to HIM!) has gone from state of repair to burnt down!

dont listen to me... but
if a house were burnt down due to electrical things I thnk the insurers would pay out even if there were negligence
Uppark house fire - the insurers tried that and the judge gave them short shrift

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/law-report-subcontractor-is-judged-liable-for-fire-damage-to-uppark-house-national-trust-v-haden-young-ltd-court-of-appeal-lord-justice-nourse-lord-justice-russell-and-lord-justice-henry-26-july-1994-1379674.html

o god but dont listen to me I know frack all about insurance case law

[Peter Pedant]

25 y ago - a mere foo-foo in the hiistory of insurance law

[Bazile]

Disregard the extreme case of a house burning down

If a claim was made for say putting your foot through a ceiling

The assessor comes out and says that the house is not in a good state of repair , due to one or more things .

Would the insurer cancel the insurance policy ?

[youngmafbog]

In my experience, of quoting on repairs that people want the insurance company to pay it would be at the discretion of the loss adjuster - as PP says.

So, if you stick your size 12 through a ceiling that was in good repair they may still pay. If however the ceiling was in poor repair, say water damage from a leak, then they would say tough.

I have not heard about an insurance company cancelling the policy over it though, they simply assess the payout, if any.

[Bazile]

What I'm trying to get clear is as follows

The insurance policy says the house must be in a good state of repair .

If for what ever reason the insurer in the future ,deemed that the house is not in a good state of repair ; would they cancel the policy ?

[davebro]

If they decided that the insured had been untruthful in arranging the insurance (however that came about) then they would be at liberty to (and might well) cancel the policy.

There is a series "Claimed & Shamed" on the beeb and cancellation of the policy is often one of the outcomes.

[Bazile]

Ok

A relative has had insurance on a house with the same insurer for many years

Every year she has let it renew

When she first took the policy out the house was in a good state of repair

However the windows now need changing because of some rot .

Would that be classed as 'untruthful in arranging the insurance' ?

[davebro]

They will treat every case on it's merits I think. If you claimed for a flood in the kitchen then the state of the windows would not be at issue and they would likely pay out.

Funds permitting, why not get the windows replaced anyway?