Lightning damage can be serious for a property. 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 To Property – Insurance Claim Case Study
Insurance Claim Solutions received a call from a distressed client following a violent lightning strike to her family home.
The property is a semi detached 2-storey house located in south Dublin and suffered extensive damage following a lightning strike.
The lightning 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 carried out a full survey 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 assess 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 quantify 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 lightning strike had damaged the entire flue liner and following a CCTV survey replacement was required .
The lightning 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 set out the scope of works identified by the survey and specialist reports. 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 dealt with the insurance company loss adjuster on the scope of the reinstatement works.
How ICS can help
We work on a no win no fee basis and the initial consultation is free. You can reach us on 01 870 9210.