Leak in Kitchen - 2 units soaked through

clarab_3

Hi All,

I know I sound like a total amateur but Ive never made a claim before and I dont really know my rights or what an insurer might try to pull.

Wedensday night the waste water from my sink flooded behind a sealed unit while the washing machine was on. It could have been a lot worse, the floor is laminate but it has survived, the unit and the one next to it though absorbed so much water they have expanded, the chipboard is all warped and frankly it is beginning to stink of damp!

I had to have a plumber come out and rip out one of the 2 cabinets to get at the leak.

So - I have one cabinet destroyed by plumber (it was soaked through anyhow) and the other just soaked through and ruined. Its not a posh kitchen, I imagine it was a cheap job put in to sell my flat 6 years ago when I bought it.

What do I ask? will they only replace the two exisiting cabinets? what if theres nothing that will match (though i think there is a chance there will be?) Will I be accused of ruining the kitchen myself because we had to rip one out to get to the pipe?

Im sorry to be so dumb, these things always have the ability to intimidate me.

marshallka

Hi, what are the terms of your policy? You would be better off reading it as you may get ripped off as the advisors often put you off claiming and tell you that you can only claim for certain things. They are working for your insurance company and not you. Their job is to make money for the insurance company and most probably get brownie points for making a genuine large claim only a few quid by advising you wrong.

clarab_3

marshallka wrote: »

Hi, what are the terms of your policy? You would be better off reading it as you may get ripped off as the advisors often put you off claiming and tell you that you can only claim for certain things. They are working for your insurance company and not you. Their job is to make money for the insurance company and most probably get brownie points for making a genuine large claim only a few quid by advising you wrong.

Thanks - it says I am covered for "water or oil escaping from any fixed water installation or domestic appliance" So thats great.

It also says we will not pay for the replacement or repair of any non damaged items solely because they are part of the installation - so i better hope b&Q still sell this design

dacouch

Which Insurer is it ?

Was the unit the plumber ripped out to fix the leak actually damaged by the water as well ?

clarab_3

dacouch wrote: »

Which Insurer is it ?

Was the unit the plumber ripped out to fix the leak actually damaged by the water as well ?

It's natwest. and yes, it was soaked through, its only the shelf and back that has been ripped out to get at the concealed pipe so the soaked "body" of the unit is still there should they wish to send a loss adjuster to see it. Its not going anywhere and its not in any danger of flooding any more so I don't mind.

I just cant afford to replace it myself just now - Ive already had a plumbers call out to pay!

sugared_honey

marshallka wrote: »

Hi, what are the terms of your policy? You would be better off reading it as you may get ripped off as the advisors often put you off claiming and tell you that you can only claim for certain things. They are working for your insurance company and not you. Their job is to make money for the insurance company and most probably get brownie points for making a genuine large claim only a few quid by advising you wrong.

Is this 'clever' guess work or is this personal experience? I certainly have not experienced this, we get 'brownie points' for compliments from customers (written, or when they have called up especially to compliment on service), not on saving the company money by declining claims. We are advised when we have spent money we shouldn't (paid a claim we shouldn't etc), or not paid a claim that should have been paid, but certainly not credited for saving money.
Sorry for the rant, but so many people complain on here when they are not covered, when the cover is clearly explained in their policy book. I understand there are still jobsworths in claim centres, but most of us are here to pay claims, not repudiate them.

marshallka

sugared_honey wrote: »

Is this 'clever' guess work or is this personal experience? I certainly have not experienced this, we get 'brownie points' for compliments from customers (written, or when they have called up especially to compliment on service), not on saving the company money by declining claims. We are advised when we have spent money we shouldn't (paid a claim we shouldn't etc), or not paid a claim that should have been paid, but certainly not credited for saving money.
Sorry for the rant, but so many people complain on here when they are not covered, when the cover is clearly explained in their policy book. I understand there are still jobsworths in claim centres, but most of us are here to pay claims, not repudiate them.

No, its my personal experience. I have in my policy a term saying "exact match" and they are telling me it means "like for like" really. I even had to tell TWo advisors (one supposedly managerial) what page this was on the booklet. She then said that it meant like for like really. She also said that advisors do not know every in and out of claiming and sometimes it can happen where they ask for you to say where you are reading from. Can't wait for my SAR from them and my conversations with LISA from the Leeds office.

My experience here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/32364295#Comment_32364295

Direct Line are great when you are buying the policy. They tell you why theirs if better than others etc and then when you get through to claims you are treated criminal. I have had to fight my own corner here and that is why I advise others to do the same. I am not a lover (as you can see from my posts) of insurance companies. Most of them are from the PPI reclaiming threads. I helped out quite a bit on there.

sugared_honey

marshallka wrote: »

No, its my personal experience. I have in my policy a term saying "exact match" and they are telling me it means "like for like" really. I even had to tell TWo advisors (one supposedly managerial) what page this was on the booklet. She then said that it meant like for like really. She also said that advisors do not know every in and out of claiming and sometimes it can happen where they ask for you to say where you are reading from. Can't wait for my SAR from them and my conversations with LISA from the Leeds office.

My experience here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/32364295#Comment_32364295

Direct Line are great when you are buying the policy. They tell you why theirs if better than others etc and then when you get through to claims you are treated criminal. I have had to fight my own corner here and that is why I advise others to do the same. I am not a lover (as you can see from my posts) of insurance companies. Most of them are from the PPI reclaiming threads. I helped out quite a bit on there.

Sorry I wasn't referring to your experiences with Direct Line, just the misconception that claims staff are rewarded for not paying claims thats all.
I'd imagine that they may have wanted you to point out the wording, as sometimes it can be read out of context (from what your saying, not this time though).

Unfortunately, it does sound like you may have delayed your claim by mentioning the damaged bath/pushing for a new suite. I'm sure your aware that there are many people that do take advantage of insurance with these kind of claims, even if you are not one yourself.

Just to add, validations does not always mean fraud, some claim centres do have a seperate validations team.

marshallka

sugared_honey wrote: »

Sorry I wasn't referring to your experiences with Direct Line, just the misconception that claims staff are rewarded for not paying claims thats all.
I'd imagine that they may have wanted you to point out the wording, as sometimes it can be read out of context (from what your saying, not this time though).

Unfortunately, it does sound like you may have delayed your claim by mentioning the damaged bath/pushing for a new suite. I'm sure your aware that there are many people that do take advantage of insurance with these kind of claims, even if you are not one yourself.

Just to add, validations does not always mean fraud, some claim centres do have a seperate validations team.

Hi sugared honey, I was not told it was thought to be a fraudulent claim only that it was in validation. In fact she told me that the loss adjuster may be able to actually work it out over the phone (which I do not want as I want it in writing now anything that they say since being mirepsresented and mis informed twice) but just had a thought.

I have helped people to claim back insurance on this forum and also done my own PPI claims and won of course. Could we now be blacklisted by the insurance industry cause I (and like I say she only said my claim was with the validation unit) really cannot think WHY they would do this as we are not regular claimers and my claim is valid. We have only used it rarely (and under £500 for each claim with £200 excess so really £300) but it must annoy them when we slate them on here and claim back our missold insurance. I wonder if they then "get their own back" so to speak. I bet they do have a database and I am not being paranoid here but realistic. It must be a huge hit to the insurance industry to have to make all these pay backs???

I have a huge list of complaints about how my claim has been handled and not any it was within the code that they are supposed to follow. My getting a SAR will be a good thing here I think.