Direct Line/Loss assessor/flooring claim

dacouch

This is not right, they should not try and force a decision there and then, your wife would quite rightly want to speak to discuss the matter directly with you.

The removal and disposal of the damaged flooring which is part of the claim is the responsibility of the Insurer to handle, DL have decided to use Independent Inspections to handle the claim for them so it is up to Independent Inspections to deal with this.

It makes you wonder how II would handled a major fire claim, would they expect you to hack away the damaged floor joists, no they would not. If you look at this page of their website you will find the following statement "Water extraction and drying/flooring uplift and disposal" http://www.independent-inspections.co.uk/InsuranceCustomers/

It makes you wonder if they try to make the policyholder responsible for the disposal as they earn commission by selling the hippo bags http://www.independent-inspections.co.uk/InsuranceCompanies/Disposal.aspx However I suspect the reason is the pass on the lead to a local flooring company who will at some point pay them a commission. Most flooring companies will just want to turn up on the day with the flooring and fit it without having to take up the old damaged flooring.

You need to ring DL, as I mentioned before be polite and explain what is happening, the damaged flooring is part of your claim and it is upto DL or if they wish to subcontract the claim to someone else then it's upto II. You should also raise the matter with DL about being pressured into making a decision on the flooring.

Personally I would get them to refund you what you have been paid, then ask them the name of the company in your area that they are getting to do the work. When you get this information pop along to the flooring shop and look at what flooring they have and find out what they recommend and what your happy with. You will almost certainly find it is cheaper as you will have cut out II's profit margin and you can make a decision at your leisure. The local company will often be an independent flooring company and they are often good tradesmen so you may find it beneficial to discuss it with them. They can normally ring through to II and find out how much the budget they have agreed is.

Alternatively you may find that if you speak to DL they will let you cut II out of the loop and get a quote from a local flooring company (Who can include the cost of taking up and disposing of the damaged flooring), DL will probably be happy with this as long as it is below what II have advised them the claim is worth. If it is more they will allow you to pay the balance (I often find local suppliers are cheaper than national suppliers such as II as you have cut out their profit margin and the local companies need the business).

Remember when you speak to DL, be polite, ask for the person's name at the start of the call and use their name in the conversation as much as possible. The DL staff are based in the UK and are generally pretty helpful