Ceiling collapsing and insurance

[lanadelgrey]

Ceiling looks like it‘s going to come down. Do I repair it out of my own pocket or claim on insurance, which I‘ve never done, and if so do I wait til it actually comes down. House has suffered in dry weather and I guess the ground shrinking

Just be aware that even making an enquiry about an issue even if you don't go on to claim counts as a notification and needs to be declared when you apply to renew your insurance. We found out the hard way when our insurance cost went up after we enquired about a ceiling leak, even though we later went on to fix and pay for the repair ourselves rather than claiming

Sounds good. Better to be proactive.

It rather depends on why it's falling (or is about to fall) down. Insurance won't cover you for failing to undertake general maintenance of your property.
As pp have said, best to ring your insurer or broker and ask them - preferably before it actually falls down.

Old lathe and plaster ceilings need maintenance though. Claiming on insurance for maintenance issues is not a loss. It’s the home owners job to do this. @lanadelgrey pictures would help.

A big part of my kitchen ceiling fell down 10yrs ago. Insurance refused to pay to have it repaired/replaced as said that I should have been maintaining it. Apart from freshening it up with a repaint every few years, not sure what else needed maintaining.
They sent out an assessor who also noted the damage to my kichen worktops/units, electrical items such as microwave, kettle etc. My tiled floor was also damaged. They paid out to have all these items replaced because they were accidentally damaged when ceiling came down, yet refused to payout for the ceiling.

@Fiddy1964 Building insurance is not the same as contents insurance. You were lucky with the flood and worktops. You need to critically look at ceilings! They don’t last forever, and it’s important to look at cracks and bulging. No standard ceiling collapses without something being wrong with it!

floor - not flood.

The reason I keep asking about the age of the house and where it is, is that L&P ceilings have a limited life, especially in areas subjected to wartime bombing.

It is possible to repair or reinforce them, if done in time, but this is rarely done. I have done it, and it is labour-intensive.

I had some ceilings come down after a burst pipe in a period house, and the insurers very fairly paid for comprehensive reinstatement, including a specialist Lime Plasterer.

I had a ceiling come down in a Victorian terrace... got told it was wear and tear, unfortunately about two months later we discovered a slow leak in the bathroom above was the actual culprit... Frankly, the insurance would have been better staying in my bank as an emergency pot!

If you are going to talk to them, be very circumspect around mentioning ground drying out as they will jump to subsidence and then any forms of insurance will be quite challenging!

Just fill and tape. Insurance unlikely to cover cosmetic damage.

This happened to me in my living room, except there was no indication, it just suddenly happened. There was an almighty crash and over half the ceiling came down just missing my dog. I was in the kitchen at the time.
I phoned the insurance company, they asked a lot of questions and then told me I wasn't covered because no outside influence had caused it.

Apparently😶 ( and in retrospect) if I could have given a valid reason as to why this happened then I would have been covered.

Reasons like
Water damage
Putting up lighting, and everything came down.
etc;

If I'd been paying more attention, and investigated a possible cause, then I would not possibly had to pay it all myself. 😕

No ceiling just comes down! They just don’t. There’s always an indication of a problem - which people ignore! Who ignores a water leak! You see the stain.

A lath and plaster ceiling relies on thin wooden strips nailed to the joists above, and plaster gripping onto them.

Over a hundred years the nails rust until they no longer have the strength to hold the strips

Over a hundred years tbe wood dries and becomes brittle, weak and worm eaten, until it no longer has the strength to hold up the heavy lime

Over a hundred years the plaster cracks, due to slamming doors and exploding bombs, until it no long clings to the laths.

It stays up out of habit.

Until it doesn't.

There’s often cracks that show weakness in an old ceiling. They are not perfect one minute and collapsing the next. They are brittle and often have micro cracks and some flakiness. It’s a case of monitoring them,

I worked in Home Insurance for years. Your best bet is to get a builder in to have a look first, before contacting your insurers. Hopefully a builder will be able to identify the problem, what's caused it. You can then check your policy before contacting your insurers. New and older houses often develop internal cracks where the wall/ceiling join. Usually filling and redecorating is all that's necessary. I've been in a house where there was a water leak and that's the only time I thought the ceiling might collapse. I stuck a needle up in the most obviously water stained bit and put a bowl underneath. It prevented the ceiling collapsing while I waited for repairs to the (old) roof. The very small hole was filled and painted over, job done. Insurance doesn't cover maintenance/wear and tear.