Home insurance should offer reassurance when something goes wrong. Yet recent national reporting has highlighted a growing number of households facing long delays, difficult communication and unexpected disputes during the claims process. While every insurer and every case is different, the volume of stories appearing across the UK has prompted a wider discussion about how claims are being handled — and why many people find the experience far more complex than they expected.
These stories range from long-running water damage cases to major fire reinstatements. Homeowners described slow decision-making, repeated handovers between departments, uncertainty over what was covered, and the pressure of living in damaged homes for months at a time. Some have struggled to understand policy wording. Others have faced rising reinstatement costs, confusing assessments, or contrasting opinions from different parties involved in the claim.
This national conversation has raised important questions about how modern home insurance operates, what homeowners can reasonably expect, and why the claims process has become so technically demanding.
At PCLA, we see many of the same structural pressures affecting households across Northern Ireland. Older housing stock, concealed pipework, winter freeze incidents, and multi-room water damage all contribute to the complexity of reinstatement here. Rising building costs and longer drying periods add further strain. These factors do not reflect bad intent — they reflect the practical realities of modern construction, insurance processes and supply-chain pressures.
To help NI homeowners understand these issues clearly and without jargon, we have produced a dedicated series that breaks down the major themes raised in the national reporting. The goal is simple: to explain how the claims process works, what typically causes delays or disputes, and what steps can help homeowners stay informed and in control.
This series covers:
Part 1 — Why UK Home Insurance Claims Are Becoming Harder to Resolve
A high-level explanation of the pressures that influence claims today, including reinstatement complexity, building costs and the number of parties involved.
Part 2 — The Hidden Reasons Claims Get Delayed
A practical breakdown of the less-visible steps in a claim, from drying to reporting chains, and why delays often occur even when everyone is trying to move the case forward.
Part 3 — Why Some Claims Are Rejected
A plain-English guide to common misunderstandings, including gradual damage, wear-and-tear, policy conditions and missing evidence.
Part 4 — NI Claims Data: What We See on the Ground
A data-led overview of the patterns observed in Northern Ireland across more than five years of settled claims, including seasonal trends and town-level differences.
Part 5 — How Homeowners Can Regain Control of a Difficult Claim
Practical steps that help households reduce stress, protect evidence and maintain momentum when a claim becomes challenging.
Part 6 — Understanding Reinstatement
An explanation of what reinstatement involves, why it often expands beyond the visible damage, and why costs vary between properties.
Part 7 — The Claims Process in Plain English
A full, step-by-step explanation of how a typical property claim progresses, what homeowners are responsible for, and what they can expect at each stage.
Taken together, these articles aim to provide clarity at a time when many people feel confused or exhausted by the claims process. They are not designed to criticise the industry or to draw broad conclusions from individual cases. Instead, they offer steady, practical guidance based on real patterns observed in NI homes and the experiences of households recovering from property damage.
The full series is now available on our blog. Readers can explore each part at their own pace, or dip into the sections most relevant to their situation.
