A Roof Leak Causes Severe Water Damage to a Building in Dublin
Not all roof leaks are as a direct result of storm damage. In this case the roof leak was caused by a roof gully that had become blocked causing heavy rain to overflow and pour down the interior wall.
Our client, a building owner in Dublin City Centre, received a call from a neighbour reporting that water was streaming down the inside of their shop front, out the front door of the building onto the pavement. The business owner, who had recently completed a full refurbishment, arrived at his business and was shocked as to the extent of damage caused in such a short space of time.
The construction of the building included a parapet wall, with water run-off by way of a hidden valley (see Diagram 1).
The outlet of the gutter had become blocked with debris and leaves from shedding trees from a nearby park. After a heavy rain, the water overflowed and poured into the building down through all three stories and out the front door. The water caused extensive internal damage and placed the owner’s business in significant peril as trading was affected.
Insurance Claim Solutions Appointed to Manage the Roof Leak Water Damage Claim
A friend referred Insurance Claim Solutions to the property owner and our loss assessor visited the site within a few hours. The water caused severe damage to plasterwork, ceilings, doors, frames, carpets, internal woodwork, wallpaper and electrical wiring. It damaged their specialist trade equipment.
We liaised with specialist suppliers and ensured that the correct information was provided to the insurers to assist with a speedy resolution of the claim. The claim also included loss of revenue during the reinstatement works.
As the damage was to the operating business, any delay in reinstatement work would result in significant financial losses. ICS therefore put an emergency recovery plan in place. We arranged for an insurance loss adjuster to attend the site as soon as it was possible. In the meantime, we assisted our client with the mitigation of damage and the commencement of emergency drying and treatment. The main objective was to get the business operational as soon as possible, while working on receiving full compensation for the loss.
Apart from assisting our client with assessment of their loss and managing the claim, we also helped them with the selection of a competent contractor’s to complete both the demolitions/drying/treatment and the reinstatement works.
Our client received he best possible settlement terms for their loss and the business re-opened up following a fast-tracked reinstatement period.