Insurer refuses to pay for storm flood damage after criteria dispute

Ms Johnson, a dog walker from north London, thought her policy would compensate her for any flooding

An insurance company has refused to pay a customer who claims her house was damaged by flooding after they disputed the definition of a storm.

Alison Johnson, 63, told the BBC water was coming through the ceiling, due to a flash flood on 20 September.

Her insurer Homeprotect told her she could not claim because the weather conditions did not meet its own definition of a storm.

A Homeprotect spokesperson said the "weather was not severe enough."

They added: "We do not cover damage caused by wear and tear or a lack of proper maintenance" and said that the weather on 20 September was not bad enough "to damage a well-maintained roof in good working order."

About 30mm of rain fell in some parts of London throughout the day.

Ms Johnson, from Mill Hill, north-west London, told the BBC: "This is ridiculous, I am paying for home insurance exactly for this reason. You would presume the home insurance company covers you when there is damage to your property".

Ms Johnson is worried about the financial cost of repairing her ceiling

She added that the storm "caused roads to be cut off as there was so much flood damage in a short space of time."

Ms Johnson is now concerned that she will have to pay several thousand pounds to fix the leak in her roof.

"It's had a huge financial impact. I don't have that sort of money sitting around and I am going to have to save up and pay in instalments."

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Ms Johnson's insurance documents state the definition of 'storm' as "a period of violent weather with wind speeds of at least 55mph, or rainfall of at least 25mm per hour" and that a 'flood' is a "sudden release or rapid build-up of water from outside the home or outbuildings entering into the home or outbuildings."

The weather on 20 September did not meet this criteria according to the company which is underwritten by AXA insurance.

BBC weather presenter Sara Thornton says people can get caught out by not reading the small print

BBC weather presenter Sara Thornton, said that although there was a lot of rain on the day in question, it might not have met the threshold for this insurance policy.

"We don't read the small print and sometimes we don't know what those thresholds mean.

"The winds that they're talking about in this policy are extremely strong - storm force winds, sustained winds. We rarely see those winds and a lot of rain in a short space of time."

She added that rainfall is not always factored into each insurance company's criteria.

In a statement, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said insurers expect bad weather at any time and their priority is always to help their affected customers recover as quickly as possible. It added: "As with all insurance, it's important to know what you're covered for, so we recommend reading your policy carefully and, if in doubt, speak to your insurer."

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