Tree, branch, fence, chainsaw, me, advice?

[Colin]

Hi,

Last night a third of a large tree fell and broke about 30 feet of post and rail fence.

Would this be covered by buildings insurance (repairing fence and removing tree)?

If it is, have I any chance of getting the insurance company to pay for me to dispose of the branch and repair the fence? I want to chop the wood for firewood anyway. The branch is probably 2.5 to 3 feet in diameter and very long and so I would have to purchase a larger chainsaw than I have now. I was wandering whether the insurance company would be open to the suggestion of contributing towards a chainsaw if I was to fix the mess.

Any similar experiences with insurance companies? (BTW the insurance company is Direct Line).

TIA, Colin

[Philip Wagstaff]

Surely the best advice is ask Direct Line. It'll all depend on your policy and the way they interpret it. If they start playing tough (my car insurance co say they have the most difficulty getting money out of DL) then come back for advice on getting them to change their mind.

[Steve Firth]

Definitely call and ask. To my surprise we found our boundary wall and fences are covered.

[Colin]

That reminds me of a subsidence claim I had for a previous garage with a previous insurance company. It turned out that the preferred contractor lived next door to the loss adjuster and was the only one that quoted for the job...

Colin

[Andrew McKay]

The only possible "issue" with this arrangement might be if the insurance company coughed up for a chainsaw, and the recipient then managed to chop off a vital part of their own anatomy, or worse.

That could potentially put the insurance company in harms way in terms of being held responsible.

There is also the issue of guarantee - if a 3rd party does the work and it is defective then they can be called back in to make amends. Whereas if our DIYer made a mess of the job then he'd be liable to himself.

I gave up trying to educate "the system" a long time ago. They have their procedures and will follow those regardless of what the outcome will be.

Andrew

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