Building insurance

[hoyboy]

Hypothetical question here.... 50 year old slatted cattle shed with a silage pit on one side of it. I'm starting to question the structural integrity of it. If the wall was to crack under the weight of silage it could be quite a problem. Would insurance be likely to cover such an event?

 

[Steevo]

If it hasn't been maintained sufficiently they likely won't stand it.

 

[FowlerandGilbert]

Morning @hoyboy
This article may be helpful to you?

How to keep your insurances up to date - Fowler & Gilbert

With the costs of labour and materials rocketing throughout 2022 caused by supply and demand causing such a significant inflation, now is the time to review your policies to ensure everything is up to date. Inaccurate insurance with out-of-date figures will leave you out of pocket or with a...

www.flgb.co.uk

Have a nice day, Kelly

 

[Rich_ard]

Hypothetical question here.... 50 year old slatted cattle shed with a silage pit on one side of it. I'm starting to question the structural integrity of it. If the wall was to crack under the weight of silage it could be quite a problem. Would insurance be likely to cover such an event?

It would also be interesting to know what your premium would go to after such a claim. I suppose if you got a new shed then cancel the insurance you would be OK.

 

[hoyboy]

If it hasn't been maintained sufficiently they likely won't stand it.

It's more that it's never been designed for the weight it's holding. If built to modern spec the wall would be 2ft thick. It is only a 10" mass concrete wall as that is the gauge of steel the building is made of. Been used as a silage pit for 50 years but the building is slowly being pushed sideways by the weight of silage. The steel uprights on the silage pit side in the middle two bays of the shed are now 20mm per meter off of perpendicular the other side is leaning out by the same amount. Some day the tank will crack

 

[Nearly]

Don't post your doubts on the internet.....

This was our barn.

The kick in the ridge was due to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts from the left moving outwards ..... in 1975.
It was reinforced externally and hasn't moved visibly since.
We stopped filling it in 1994, and sold it in 2020.

 

[Steevo]

It's more that it's never been designed for the weight it's holding. If built to modern spec the wall would be 2ft thick. It is only a 10" mass concrete wall as that is the gauge of steel the building is made of. Been used as a silage pit for 50 years but the building is slowly being pushed sideways by the weight of silage. The steel uprights on the silage pit side in the middle two bays of the shed are now 20mm per meter off of perpendicular the other side is leaning out by the same amount. Some day the tank will crack

Do you know what perils you are insured for?

Be worth looking at your insurance documents. That would tell you if you are covered.

I doubt the usual storm, flood, aeroplane etc will cover it. Subsidence isn't usually taken out on farm buildings, and even then I doubt that would cover it.

So other than that I think you may only be left with accidental damage....which I think would cover you if you had backed a tractor into it or hit it with a digger without meaning to, but I don't think that "overloading over a sustained period" would be a fair assessment of accidental damage.

 

[Nigel Wellings]

Standard exclusions on any farm buildings policy include; building defects, wear and tear and gradually operating causes. I would expect any of these exclusions to be used by Insurers to say that you do not have a valid claim. I dont think this is unreasonable.