loss adjusters.....???

gtrsky

Hello !... i.m at wits end!!, i have been out of my house for exactly one year due to secondary flooding,my insurance company(Norwich union) appointed a bunch of monkeys to be my loss adjusters(Cunningham Lyndsey), who inturn appointed local builders in the east yorkshire area. Due to the time delays and hassles that the builders have caused i have kicked them out of my house and have told the loss adjuster that i would get my own independant quotes for the remaining work,which they said was fine. The loss adjuster has said to me that the builders had spent £13,000 and that my settlement would be £8200(total costs through the loss adjusters would have been £21200) I have sent them quotes for £16500 and £17800, the lower quote is to fit a cheaper kitchen!, now the loss adjuster is saying that i would only get £8200!!, and that the quotes i have put in to them are far too high!!. Should l seek legal advice against Norwich union?,or should i contact the Insurance omburdsman?....please help as this has already had an adverse effect on my marriage, as my partner and i have temporarily split. Has anybody else had this amount of trouble with their loss adjusters?........thanks.

Insco

You should speak with your Insurers firstly and if there is no progress / joy, lodge a formal complaint as set out in your policy wording. You cannot ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to review your complaint until you have a final response letter from your Insurers ( which has to be issued within 8 weeks of your complaint to them). However there are delays at the FOS - complaints can take many months to be reviewed.

You should ask Cunninghams in the interim for a copy of their contractor's scope of works, and a copy of their contractors estimate to make sure that they have included the same works as your contractors and to make sure Cunninghams are not misleading you as to the value of the works

You should have had a qualified surveyor appointed to scope the works initially. This may have been undertaken by Cunninghams because they can charge extra for this work. If they left it to one of their nominated contractors to scope the works then you should be demanding the appointment of an independent surveyor.

You are free to appoint legal or claim representation at any point. This would be at your own cost in the first instance, although if it could be demonstrated that you have been incorrectly treated, the court may award fees.

dacouch

therightclaim it would be better for the OP if you post on here plus other MSE members can read your advice which can be helpful to them as well.

I think everyone on the Insurance Forum would be happier if you changed you name to one that was not touting for business and / or removed the link on your profile. It would lend a bit more authority to your advice as it would be more impartial.

We welcome people on the Insurance Forum but are very particular about touting for business as it really taints the forum