Burglary attempt, insurance underwriter wants to repair!

sagalout1954

Had an attempted burglary and 3 year old UPVC double glazed window (from a 4 part unit) in rear garden and separate side door were damaged.

Deep'ish dents and gouges out of framework and window/door casements, looks like a screwdriver was used along with maybe a chisel. Also, brown UPVC has been damaged exposing bits of the white UPVC underskin.

Though no obvious sign of structural damage clearly there are no guarantees that this isn't the case (and that includes to the locks and handles). We have no way of knowing exactly how much force was used and though glass not broken, doesn't mean the sealed units aren't going to 'blow' and start letting condensation seep through in a few years time.

According to our supplier they are moulded units, they cannot simply remove and replace bits and pieces. Our insurer claims that from the photographs they look repairable - I beg to differ and agree withour supplier.

I don't want some cheap cobble job done just to save the insurer money - neither do I want to lose my current remaining 7 year warranty on these 2 units, replacing it with a 5 year one from some company whose workmanship I know nothing about.

Who will step forward if they do a patch repair and I'm burgled through either of these two points in the future? How will I find out if there MAY be structural damage to the inner steel reinforcement? Where do I go if the insurers 'engineer' from some glazing company decides that a repair job will do?

Insurers have said they won't be sending a loss adjustor (in which case I'd be asking for advice on finding a loss assessor to protect me), just this glazing firm's engineer - who clearly has the insurers best interest at heart (& their own, presumably they'd undertake the 'repair').

I'm not trying to make money here, but I want exactly the same quality I had before (let's face it, it kept burglers from gaining entry). How do I ensure the insurers don't get away with a cobble job for £4.50!!!!

FlameCloud

To be fair the stuff they can do to UPVC stuff is quite remarkable. We had a two day long training course with one of the nations biggest glaziers on repairs. They gave us a piece of upvc, a screwdriver and told us to to spend ten minutes scoring it. They then demonstrated varying repair methods, normally heat based. I was very sceptical at the beginning but I do have to say I was stunned with how well they came out- even half inch deep gouges were unnoticeable.

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FlameCloud wrote: »

To be fair the stuff they can do to UPVC stuff is quite remarkable. We had a two day long training course with one of the nations biggest glaziers on repairs. They gave us a piece of upvc, a screwdriver and told us to to spend ten minutes scoring it. They then demonstrated varying repair methods, normally heat based. I was very sceptical at the beginning but I do have to say I was stunned with how well they came out- even half inch deep gouges were unnoticeable.

Not only this but it's also absolutely up to the insurers how they decide to settle the claim.

dacouch

I've seen one where there was an attempted burglary and the upvc french doors were very badly damaged. The Insurer (Axa) had an agreement with Homeserve where they would attempt a repair on all of these types of claims. It was an elderly customer who did not feel safe.

I became involved and the door installer quoted £350 to install a new door and advised the customer the door would not be safe if it was repaired and put his reasons in writing which was very convincing.

Axa would not budge until I had the quote which was actually £100 cheaper than Homeserves proposed repair. I had to speak to a few different people (Thats the Axa way) and eventually got someone who could see the logic as they would have paid Homeserve more money and as it would not have worked would then have had to pay for a new door.

sagalout1954

Trouble is, no-one can guarantee the sealed window units and what damage may be underlying there, given that unknown pressure was applied in an effort to force both the door (about 1/3 way up from the bottom and again 1/3 down from the top). Same thing with the windows, attacked at 2 different heights.

The company the insurers are sending to 'have a look' offer a 5 year warranty - unacceptable. My own installer offers 10 years - I still have 7 years to run on the damaged goods (which will be invalid ones someone else touches them). If they aren't confident enough in their own product to offer a better warranty then I don't know how I'm supposed to feel confident in it. What about my locking mechanisms - same as the glass, 'looking OK' doesn't mean they ARE OK! What happens if I'm burgled through either of these entry points in the future - would another insurer assume the previous 'repairs' had been good enough, somehow I doubt it.

It isn't just our installer who said 'no' to attempted repairs. I spoke with a surveyor at the local Council (I work there) who said "once the integrity of the uPVC brown overlay foil has been broken, it cannot be properly repaired". I'm not looking to get our door and window back to an aesthetically pleasing condition, I want the glazing, the locking AND the look to be as it was before - and guaranteed to be so.

Oh well, if needs be I've researched how to complain initially, followed by the Ombudsman. Even have some legal insurance on our contents insurance which we can fall back on if necessary. Afraid it ISN'T going to only be up to the insurers how my claim is settled!

peterbaker

Agreed sagalout1954

.... it's also absolutely up to the insurers how they decide to settle the claim.

Yeah right, and it's also absolutely up to the customers if their preference is to roll over and let the insurer tickle their tum

Oscar_The_Grouch

peterbaker wrote: »

Agreed sagalout1954

Yeah right, and it's also absolutely up to the customers if their preference is to roll over and let the insurer tickle their tum

Yep. You got it in one.

The insurer retains the right to decide how to indemnify or reinstate following a claim in the majority of policies. The exceptions tend to be the high net worth policies offered by Hiscox and the like.

peterbaker

Grouchy, I suggest you look at your word indemnify. It's the right word to use alright, but it has a specific meaning. It means that the policyholder must be restored to the same position as he would have been had no damage occurred.

Now then, just how many ways are there to get to that position where the the owner of the damaged windows is indemnified? I'll give you three:

1. The windows are repaired to a standard, strength and fitting indistinguishable to the originally undamaged windows i.e. so they remain fit for purpose in all respects.

2. The windows are replaced with windows of a similar standard, strength and fitting to the original windows before they were damaged.

3. (Unlikely thesedays). A cash sum within any policy limit is paid to the window owner which would pay enough for the policyholder himself to pay a repairer to do 1 or 2 at the least cost, which means the policyholder could then even choose to get a bodge job done and himself pocket the difference.

What the OP has described is where the insurer perhaps thinks it can force a bodge job to be done and the insurer will then pocket the difference between it and a proper job. That would be plain wrong.

The difference between most insurers and Hiscox for example is that one is a properly behaved insurance company, that's all.