Insurance Query - reasonable or not?

[Earlybird]

A friend needs a new roof on her house (current roof is very old), and it is going to be an expensive undertaking.

She was advised that roofs deemed to have been damaged by recent storms, could be repaired/replaced by her insurance. The roofer came to see if she might qualify, and said storm damage could not be claimed.

We recently had some steady all-day rain. Her very old roof leaked, and she now has a problem with the ceiling in a few rooms as a result.

She is again, going to see if insurance will pay to fix the ceiling and repair/replace the roof.

Her logic is 'this is why you have insurance, and I've paid in a lot over the years'.

What is your judgement - is she reasonable/ethical (or even savvy?) to attempt to claim, or is she taking the p*ss by trying to get insurance to pay for a problem caused by her lack of home maintenance?

Btw - she can easily afford to have the roof replaced, so lack of funds does not figure in to this situation.

She's taking the piss. If she wanted to have money to cover the normal wear & tear and aging of her roof, she should have taken out a savings policy to cover the costs.

The company won't pay out unless the damage is caused by something listed on the insurance - the fact the rain is now coming in doesn't make it storm damage.

Hmm - I think she's let go of the idea that storm damage could get her a new roof.

I think she now hopes to claim that the roof is no longer water tight and thus it/her ceiling need to be repaired. I think she hopes a roofer would tell the insurance company that the roof isn't worth repairing and should be replaced instead.

If things follow that scenario - she gets a new roof, paid for by insurance.

I wouldn't knock her for trying .... Insurance companies deserve screwing at every opportunity.

By the way, I watched Billy Connoley in THE MAN WHO SUED GOD last night - quality - recommended reading

They won't cough up on that basis, I'm quite sure - it would count as a consequence of something not covered by the insurance. But, so long as she's honest, there's no harm in trying!

It's not covered - insurance is there to cover the consequences of what cannot be easily forseen. An old roof will need replacing, and will leak until it is - so is not covered.

The harm in trying is only that a rejected claim will go on her record, and could flag her as someone whose future claims will be investigated for possible attempted fraud in more depth than otherwise, adding time to the claim.