When a storm damaged items in David and Sue’s garage, their insurer said the flat-pack boxes for their new conservatory weren’t contents.
What happened
David and Sue’s garage collapsed in a storm. Many of the items they kept in it were damaged. They put in a claim under their contents insurance, and their insurer agreed to pay for all the damaged items – except a flat-pack conservatory.
David and Sue pointed out that they hadn’t assembled this conservatory yet. It was sitting in their garage in parts. The insurer argued that they still considered this item to be a building, which only a buildings insurance policy would cover.
David and Sue didn’t have buildings insurance. They complained about their insurer’s exclusion of the flat-pack conservatory and, unhappy with their insurer’s response, contacted us.
What we said
We looked at all the evidence from both sides and decided that the unbuilt conservatory would count as part of the couple’s household contents. It hadn’t been made into an actual building yet. When it got damaged, it was a collection of separate components stored in boxes.
So, we asked David and Sue’s insurer to pay for all the damaged items, including the flat-pack conservatory.