ceiling fallen in

She needs to contact her insurance company, never mind what the builders say. Wear and tear? Is it a flat with people living above her?

True. That plaster is so heavy and solid. We had a similar problem at one place I worked at. It was the stairwell so no access upstairs for ages. Hope things get sorted OK at your DDs. Expensive to fix but worth doing properly.

Oh no. How awful for her.
Was there heavy stuff above it, say in the attic?
Totally agree about contacting her insurance company.

Surely she doesn't have to put it all back as it was, unless she wants it that way? It's possible to buy reproduction polystyrene roses and cornices. If it's not her house, I can't see why she's liable. Once it's all cleared away and tidied up maybe she won't be so upset - I have lived without ceilings for a while in three old houses now. Once because of the hurricane, up in the attics thankfully. I think I would ask for a couple more quotes.

Insurance - that will depend on the assessor. If it's classed as an accident she should be ok, it's a bit of a minefield.

I was at a dinner party when the ceiling fell down on our dinner. We all went hungry that night - eight guests in their finery clearing up plaster and lathes. We had just been called in by the hostess, so it was lucky we weren't all in there.

On another occasion we were just about to go to bed when the old lady next door hobbled round to see us, crying for us to rescue her budgie. We couldn't understand until we went round and couldn't see through the dust. DS was only 6 months old, but we had to get round there and clear up the worst and send her to bed. Luckily her landlord was her nephew and he dealt with it quickly - and the budgie survived, as she had put his cover on and was in the kitchen when it happened.

It's always a shock though.

What do the builders know about insurance? Contact the insurance company and get the real story. No point having insurance and not claiming.
It was lucky that no-one was underneath when it came down. Buildings are easier to fix than people.

Polystyrene cornices and roses look exactly what they are – cheap and nasty reproductions in a horrid material. I think polystyrene also gives off toxic fumes in the event of a house fire.

At least with a reproduction cornice and rose, it will not be so heavy and pull the ceiling down again. You can get some quite good reproductions these days. In Edwardian houses, they were plaster because plastics had not been invented. Edwardian houses tended to be cheaper smaller copies of Victorian ones.
Not everyone has a spare £4000 to buy the real thing.

The builders are protecting themselves. They know that if the insurance company takes charge, they will give the job to their own nominated builders. She really must consult her insurer.

I used to work for a reputable builders some years ago and in fact, Elegran, they were very knowledgeable about what insurance companies would and would not cover. I agree she should definitely speak to her insurers and get an assessor down - there may be another reason for the collapse, water seepage for example, in which case it would likely be covered.
If it's just wear and tear, then I would suspect they wouldn't cover it, any more than they would pay out for replacing a roof that has merely succumbed to old age.
How lucky, though, that no-one was injured. It could have been so much worse.

When it happened to us, our little used, dining room ceiling fell down and some time later when we found out the dust had settled!

The insurers paid for the damaged goods, re french polishing of furniture and cleaning of carpets. They did not pay for the ceiling as it was classed as wear and tear over 90 years!
Fortunately, the decorative coving seemed to be separate and remained in tact. In other parts of the house ceilings were replaced and fancy wood edging was used to replicated coving. x

I am sure there are probably good quality reproduction cornices etc. However I suspect that with an old house it might be regarded as wear and tear.

There are some very good reproduction ones, it's just that they are not sold in B&Q!

It might be worth telling the insurance co that you will geta private assessment. You ont have to do it but it might help