Burst pipes-house suffered major damage

connee01

My family and I went on holiday for 1 month over Xmas. During the last few days of our holiday we were notified that pipes in our bathroom had burst and our house had suffered significant damage. We took precautions in terms of heating the house and we have received a good service from the insurers to date.

On Monday a company appointed by our insurers visited the house to make a first assessment of the damage. I was shocked when he informed me that the house had suffered significant damage and basically everything in the house was going to be written off. I thought it was bad but he basically said kitchen/bathrooms etc were all being written off. The loss adjuster visits next week. We were also told we would not be back in our house until the summer.

Does anyone have any experience of a simmer situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

dacouch

Where are you staying at the moment ?

Which Insurer is it ?

connee01

Our insurance policy is with UGM. They have passed our case onto a company called Davies managed systems. The person who came on Monday was from a restoration force. It's quite confusing dealing with the different parties.

At the moment we are staying with my parents but this can only be for another week or so. Apparently the loss adjuster who visits next week is the person we must speak to about temporary accommodation.

dacouch

Do you know which actual Insurance Company UGM have placed you with, their name is normally on your policy booklet

connee01

One of the things I have learned from this experience is to pay more attention when it comes to getting insurance. Basically last September I went online via renew insurance and my policy is with UGM Magenta. I don't know what kind of company they are but I am no longer in contact with them as they have passed our case onto Davies managed. To be fair everyone involved in the claim has been very good. Our carpets were ripped out today and heaters are being delivered tomorrow. What surprises me is that they don't seem interested in trying to restore anything- it looks like everything is going to be destroyed.

dacouch

It would be helpful to know which Insurer it actually is as some companies will insist on their own contractors to do the building work and they are awful.

I would recommend you find a good local tradesman and ask them to pop around to provide a quotation and also ask them to talk you through what needs to be done. This is because the LA / Insurer will normally use their preferred builders and it's fairly common for them to miss out things. Having the knowledge for instance that the plaster in which rooms has blown etc etc can be very helpful. If you know a good builder it can be better in the long run to use them than the LA/ Insurers.

I would also recommend you try and make a list of all of your contents that they are about to remove or at the least walk around with a video camera. This is helpful so you do not miss any items.

I would also recommend you buy a desk diary with a page for each day, you need to start making a note of calls between you and the Insurer / LA and suppliers etc. The name of the person and the time of the call along with what was agreed and in what time scales, this is invaluable if / when at a later date you have a dispute or they are denying things.

It's also worth keep a record eg spread sheet of all payments you receive from the Insurer, this is helpful so you know what has been paid and what is outstanding.

Treat the claim in the same way you would an important project at work, keep records of everything etc etc

connee01

UGM Magenta is the insurer. Never heard of them and just agreed to the policy via a price comparison site. What I do know is that they use their own contractors. On Monday when the company restoration force visited he said when we've finished your house will be a 'blank canvas'. All Walls / ceilings etc will be replaced because the house is so damp. When he checked the dampness in each room he said all the readings were off the scale. Humidity in the house was 85 per cent. In a way maybe it's a good thing if everything is scrapped although I am worried about what it will be replaced with. The house is a crazy mix of the brand new and the very old.

Thanks for your advice.

dacouch

What the restoration company say needs replacing and what the Loss Adjuster thinks need replacing may not match up

FlameCloud

I've spent the last 2 weeks doing nothing but burst pipe claims and am now rather annoyed with them!

Generally, depending on how long the areas have been sealed for and how long the water is coming out all rooms will require complete redecoration with alot of replastering. Kitchens, if they are chipboard, will delaminate and the walls behind tiles will need replacing, meaning that the tiles all need to come off and alot of the time this will damage the suite.

The contents side is even worse in my opinion.