Manicle Property insurance Claims Help Keep Building Cool after Storm Ophelia

Insured peril:  
Storm damage (Storm Ophelia)

Incident:
Large air conditioning unit located on the roof of an industrial building weighing over 350 kg turned over in the strong winds of Storm Ophelia.  The unit had to be removed and replaced at a cost of €20,000.

Insurer’s position:
Insurer’s initially declined the claim on the basis that the air conditioning unit was not installed in line with the manufacturer’s recommendation.  The manufacturer’s recommendations required that the unit in question be bolted into position as per the operation manual.

Manicle Property Insurance Claims reviewed the installation of the unit and, because of the location of the unit, we took the view that bolting the unit in position was not viable as it would have penetrated the water proofing membrane of the roof and, therefore, lead to other problems with the building.

We put the case forward that it was likely the original installers of the air conditioning unit carried out a risk assessment and, during the risk assessment, it is likely they concluded that, to counter the need for bolting the unit to the floor, they used copper pipes instead of flexible pipes to secure it in place and had positioned the unit in a sheltered location.

Our engineer supported this view and our presentation to the insurance company allowed the claim to progress and the policyholder to be reimbursed fully for the loss.  It was a major relief to the policyholder to have the claim covered.