Home contents claim (shed fire)

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

If I was the loss adjusters I would have a few questions.

1)Why on earth do you have pictures of all this stuff. Seems strange some of it.
2) 12.5k in a shed
3) What was the fault
4) Where on the earth do you plan to keep the replacement items and why werent they there in the first place.

giantben

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

If I was the loss adjusters I would have a few questions.

1)Why on earth do you have pictures of all this stuff. Seems strange some of it.
2) 12.5k in a shed
3) What was the fault
4) Where on the earth do you plan to keep the replacement items and why werent they there in the first place.

1 - pictures of me on my mountain bike when out with friends, and also pictures of me fishing with most of my gear in shot/background
i certainly do not have pictures of my tools laid out!

2- my bike was £2k, my brothers was £800, plus my body armour, helmets, about another £500, plus mine and his fishing gear which was just under £6k, the rest was power tools/hand tools, pressure washer, bike racks and other more "normal" shed items, i didnt realise how much i had and i dont think you do until you write it all down, its not something i ever gave any real thought to until now!

3- fire brigade said it was an electrical fault

4- ill have to keep the replacement items in the house/loft until the new shed/summerhouse is built, they were in the shed in the first place thats why they are all destroyed or unuseable.

Its just getting really frustrating not having my fishing and bike stuff with the summer being here, im having to hold off booking anymore fishing trips until i actually have the replacement gear.

withabix

They won't build you a summerhouse as that would be 'betterment' - you aren't entitled to that.

They are unlikely to PAY you the value of your claim - most insurers replace the items where possible. Note that you won't get a £2000 pressure washer if, for example, they can get an equal one for less. This occurs quite often when someone's 2 year old knocks over the 37" LCD TV which 'cost £2500 five years ago'. They don't get £2500 to spend on a new telly - they are given an equivalent or better spec TV costing approx £500, because they have got cheaper over time. For some reason they consider this to be unfair...

The insurers can take a long time to settle claims - could be 6 months or more. You can't claim for consequential losses.

dacouch

They will not normally have an issue with the OP building a Summer House providing they only have to pay out what they would have paid out had he rebuilt the shed

giantben

withabix wrote: »

They won't build you a summerhouse as that would be 'betterment' - you aren't entitled to that.

They are unlikely to PAY you the value of your claim - most insurers replace the items where possible. Note that you won't get a £2000 pressure washer if, for example, they can get an equal one for less. This occurs quite often when someone's 2 year old knocks over the 37" LCD TV which 'cost £2500 five years ago'. They don't get £2500 to spend on a new telly - they are given an equivalent or better spec TV costing approx £500, because they have got cheaper over time. For some reason they consider this to be unfair...

The insurers can take a long time to settle claims - could be 6 months or more. You can't claim for consequential losses.

Is it not worth asking if they would allow it then?

I can see that with electrical items like TV's but with the bikes/fishing gear they have stayed the same or even gone up in some cases, i dont mind if i have to replace some of my reels/rods with used items as i loved them so much.

Yeah thats fine, ive already sorted out most of the higher cost replacement goods which some pretty good discounts, the guy from C&L said they will try and replace the goods we would have the option to take a cash settlement which would be 20-30% lower than the total claim. Either option is fine, i have no interest in gaining anything from this other than to replace my missing stuff.

giantben

Would it be the loss adjuster or the insurer that would take a long time to settle, as Lloyds TSB seem to have great pleasure in advertising that they pay out the same day the claim is agreed.

If C&L continue to drag there heels would it be a good idea to speak to LTSB to speed things up, we certainly feel that we have been left out in the lurch which this so far and its made even worse by the fact that the policy has been going for 15 years with no claims whatsoever.

Any help/tips of how best to get/keep things rolling would be much appreciated.
Thanks again
Ben

FlameCloud

withabix wrote: »

They won't build you a summerhouse as that would be 'betterment' - you aren't entitled to that.

Nonsense. Insurers couldnt give a damn about betterment in real terms, only in financial terms. I have lost count of the amount of reinstatements I have authorised that were substantially different to what was there before. As long as it doesnt cost any more, I'm happy (as the PH is not moaning at me) and the PH is happy as they have what they want, which in turn means they are happy with their insurer, which then comes round full circle to make them happy with me.

Ben, I would highly recommend you ask. Adjusters are human and will often let you do more than you would think.

giantben

FlameCloud wrote: »

Nonsense. Insurers couldnt give a damn about betterment in real terms, only in financial terms. I have lost count of the amount of reinstatements I have authorised that were substantially different to what was there before. As long as it doesnt cost any more, I'm happy (as the PH is not moaning at me) and the PH is happy as they have what they want, which in turn means they are happy with their insurer, which then comes round full circle to make them happy with me.

Ben, I would highly recommend you ask. Adjusters are human and will often let you do more than you would think.

Fantastic, thats what i was thinking too, i guess you dont ask you dont get!

Thanks for your help, any tips on speeding up the rest of the claim?

FlameCloud

A couple of things-

1. Make things easy for your adjuster. They are probably seeing 4/5 claims a day and have to go home and write reports. I love it when policy holders submit to me an excel spreadsheet detailing exactly what has been nicked/damaged, the value you bought them, value you think they are now and where you can buy them from. Even better, scan on any proof of ownership. Adjusters are under pressure to get rid of claims and it is the easiest ones that will get done first.

2. Put nice, gentle pressure on them. A phone call each day will certainly get them moving, in the case of CL a call to their IM each day will get the IM annoyed who will in turn badger the adjuster into doing something. Don't be abusive- just a general moan each day will normally spur all but the most incompetent of adjusters into action.

giantben

FlameCloud wrote: »

A couple of things-

1. Make things easy for your adjuster. They are probably seeing 4/5 claims a day and have to go home and write reports. I love it when policy holders submit to me an excel spreadsheet detailing exactly what has been nicked/damaged, the value you bought them, value you think they are now and where you can buy them from. Even better, scan on any proof of ownership. Adjusters are under pressure to get rid of claims and it is the easiest ones that will get done first.

2. Put nice, gentle pressure on them. A phone call each day will certainly get them moving, in the case of CL a call to their IM each day will get the IM annoyed who will in turn badger the adjuster into doing something. Don't be abusive- just a general moan each day will normally spur all but the most incompetent of adjusters into action.

That's awesome thank you, i put a full excel spreadsheet together 7 weeks ago which lloyds TSB and C&L have, it has full prices of what that items cost and i have a detailed replacement list of the bike stuff from a shop, i will get a fishing shop to do the same for everything else, the rest of the stuff is pretty standard stuff.

So put it all on a plate for them and they will move it along nice and smoothly, simple but hopefully effective.

Thanks again!
Ben