What storm? Rusty screws blamed for garage’s collapse
DAVE STEWART’S garage collapsed while being battered by a gale-force storm but, if you ask his insurer, rusty screws were the real culprit.
Mr Stewart said he was ‘‘absolutely gobsmacked’’ when Tower Insurance declined his damage claim yesterday, potentially leaving him $20,000 out of pocket.
The insurer has argued a lack of maintenance at the Petone foreshore property, specifically rusty screws, was responsible for the garage’s collapse on June 20, not the once-in-a-generation storm that was raging outside.
Mr Stewart said the decision was cynical and he would fight it.
‘‘You say, ‘ Your roof has blown off’ and they can just come around and say, ‘It was a bit rusty’. It’s just immoral.’’
His four-unit apartment complex bore the brunt of the storm, with the seawall across the road collapsing and nearby houses damaged.
One of his tenants, Cheere Freeman, said the sound outside that night was terrifying and her son, Tiaki, 9, was too scared to sleep. He said the garage collapsing outside ‘‘sounded like a plane had fallen on a car’’.
The next morning
they found the garage flattened.
But Mr Stewart was told by Tower that his garage had collapsed because of ‘‘gradual deterioration’’.
Specifically, the screws attaching the garage to a nearby concrete wall had corroded, allowing them to pull free during the storm.
As the rusty screws were Mr Stewart’s responsibility, Tower said it was not obligated to pay out for the garage’s collapse.
Mr Stewart said he had reclad the garage only five years ago.
‘‘It’s a storm, a big storm. If you are not covered for something like this, what’s the point?’’
A Tower spokeswoman said the decision not to pay out was based on independent advice.
While the decision could be reviewed, the garage could require another engineering inspection to determine ‘‘the probable cause and condition’’ of its collapse.
About two hours after The Dominion Post contacted Tower about Mr Stewart’s claim, he was told his claim had been switched to the ‘‘complex case’’ team and an engineer would visit the property.
But Mr Stewart said that, after paying premiums on three properties to Tower for more than a decade, he would be switching to another insurer. ‘‘For someone less assertive, you wouldn’t know to continue to push. They would get away with it.’’
Thousands of insurance claims have been lodged since the June 20 storm in the capital, with the damage bill expected to run into the tens of millions.
Tower has received about 700 storm-damage claims from the Wellington region, with insurer Vero receiving another 1000.
New Zealand’s biggest insurer IAG, which owns AMI, NZI and State, has received ‘‘several thousand’’, with more lodged daily.
Both Vero and IAG said they had yet to decline any claims, but a spokesman for IAG said assessing storm damage was complex.