Britain's increasingly turbulent weather has led to complaints about buildings insurance to the independent Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) rising by a third.

Last year, insurers forked out more than £3bn on claims from the summer floods. In June and July alone, 180,000 claims were made to insurers.

They had to pay out again for the freak tornado that hit in September. And this week has seen more storms.

But the rise in claims has resulted in more disputes reaching the Ombudsman. In 2007, complaints rose to 2,516 from 1,908 in the previous year. FOS spokeswoman Emma Parker says: 'The majority of claims are being handled well. The biggest issue we are seeing in relation to storms are problems with repairs rather than the whole claim being refused.

'However, there is a steady stream of cases where firms have turned down claims on the basis that there was no storm at the time the damage occurred, or where it is agreed that there was a storm but the evidence indicates that it did not cause or contribute to the damage claimed for.

'The message to consumers is to be realistic. Just because your house was damaged in a storm does not mean that is an excuse to do the whole house up.'

Homeowners face three main problems when making a claim for weather-related damage. Insurers will first consider whether what you are claiming for is consistent with the storm damage.

They will also need to consider whether it has been proven, in the balance of probabilities, that storm conditions prevailed on or about the date of the damage.

Finally, insurers will consider whether the storm was the cause of the damage.

Insurers use local authorities and the Met Office to help ascertain what the local weather conditions were when damage allegedly occurred.

They will also review whether other houses in that area have suffered similar damage.

When reviewing a case, the FOS will expect insurers to present evidence that supports their assertions that there was no storm.

Trade body the Association of British Insurers says that the volume of complaints received last year made it inevitable that there would be an increase in customer disputes.

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