A DIRECTOR at of one of three businesses being sued for £2.5 million by a Monmouth man told a court the home-owner's emails “felt as though he had something to hide.”

Divisional director at Towergate, Michael Buse, told Cardiff High Court yesterday that following two rock-falls on his home in Tinman’s Green, Redbrook, Bryan McNaught’s emails “felt like threats, really - it wasn’t like he wanted our help.”

Towergate, along with Axa Insurance UK and Buildstore Ltd, who assist developers in all aspects of self-build properties, are being sued by Mr McNaught, 35, and his partner Sarah Harris for their involvement in the building and insuring of their self-build five-bedroom house in Redbrook.

Mr McNaught said following two rock-falls, which damaged part of his £450,000 house in February 2007, insurers Axa, who are underwritten by Towergate, refused to pay out.

Both Axa and Towergate maintain that Mr McNaught failed to disclose the proximity of a 13 metre-high rockface, which rises at an angle of between 70 and 80 degrees, to his house, meaning his policy was not valid.

The rockface is between three and five metres away from the property.

Mr McNaught said Towergate’s business practices were “flawed” as they didn’t keep audio recordings of telephone calls and relied on computer notes made by the person who took the call.

He said he discussed the rockface on the phone twice in July 2005 while on the phone with representatives from Towergate, and said its administrative procedure was “at best, ambiguous.”

Malcolm Smith, an expert witness with 35 years experience in insurance underwriting, told the court he believed Mr McNaught “would have had difficulty” getting insured after disclosing the details of the rockface.

Mr McNaught said following the rock-falls, where no-one was hurt, it took Axa three months to inform him of its decision not to pay out on the policy.

A manager in the financial services division of Buildstore, John Hay, told the court that by around March 23, he knew Mr McNaught’s claim was going to be voided or already had been.

Proceeding.