Lightning damage is comparatively rare in Ireland, but it happens a couple of times each year. Lightning strike presents three main hazards to your property:
- A building struck by lightning can catch fire, smoulder or explode.
- Power surge caused by lightning, can damage your electronic equipment and telephones incl. TVs, modems, computers and other even non-electronic devices.
- The shock wave that lightning creates can easily fracture concrete, brick and stone. Brick and stone chimneys are commonly damaged by lightning. Lightning can even blow out plaster walls, shatter glass and crack foundations,
Lightning Damage facts
- The centre of a lightning strike leading edge is 20 times hotter then the
centre of the sun - A typical lightning strike contains 1 billion volts and contains between 10,000 to
200,000 amps of current - The average flash would light a 100 watt light bulb for 3 months
- Number of lightning strikes a day on planet earth: 8 million
- Certain damage to property, caused by lightning, may not be immediately obvious
Lightning Damage To Property – Insurance Claim Case Study
Insurance Claim Solutions received a call from a distressed client following a violent lightening strike to her family home.
The property is a semi detached 2-storey house located in south Dublin and suffered extensive damage following a lightening strike.
The lightening had struck and exploded the chimney breast completely; the debris and impact caused extensive damage to the roof covering and left the roof with gaping holes. As the roof is shared with a neighbour, we were instructed to handle both claims through different insurance companies and different loss adjusters.
ICS appointment came following a referral of an old friend of the owner who had previously engaged our services. ICS carried out a full survey within a couple of hours and we found very early into our survey that the damage was more extensive than originally feared.
ICS recommended the appointment of technical specialists to ascertain the full extent of the loss. ICS in conjunction with the policyholder engaged an electrical engineer, chimney expert and structural engineer to assist us in preparation of reports to establish the full quantification of the loss.
The findings
The damage to the roof was so extensive that the entire chimney required replacement along with the entire roof required replacement. The lightening strike had damaged the entire flue liner and following a CCTV survey replacement was required .
The lightening caused damage to the internal electrical wiring even causing the sockets to explode off the wall, the intruder alarm and gas fired boiler suffered extensive damage and required replacement, also the majority of the appliances had been damaged beyond repair.
In our experience, much of the damage from a lightning strike is not obvious at the outset and only surfaces after further investigation.
ICS’s next role was to use the information gathered to present a claim and to agree a scope of works covering everything the survey and specialist reports had found. Each item had to be backed by evidence, which is why the engineers’ reports mattered so much.
ICS compiled and submitted the claim, supported by the electrical, chimney and structural reports. We then negotiated with the insurance company loss adjuster and agreed a settlement that allowed the policyholder to reinstate the property to current regulations.
Benefits of employing Insurance Claim Solutions Loss Assessor to manage the claim:
- No paperwork to fill out- ICS takes care of it
- Access to our expert specialist partners to provide damage reports to ascertain full extent of works.
- Full claim management from start to finish from a registered building surveyor and regulated insurance expert.
- Specialist reports so that hidden damage, such as to wiring and flue liners, is found and recorded
- We present the claim and negotiate with the loss adjuster, so you are not dealing with it alone
- Guidance and support on every part of the claim from an experienced professional building surveyor. Claims are our core business and we handle 100’s of claims every year.
- As ICS are owner operated the policyholder receives a 1 to 1 personal service.