Insurance Water Damage Claim

Nicky9963

My central heating broke and flooded my house. Now half the kitchen units are damaged and half appear to be ok. The insurance only want to play for the replacement of the damaged ones, I have said from the start I am happy for them to re-instate my kitchen to the way it was before the damage and am not after a new kitchen but I believe my kitchen is not available any more so obviously I will not accept a different kitchen in one half. Where do I stand?

They want to replace the bathroom floor also and have said they will need to rip out half the bathroom to do so. The tiles in my bathroom, although only just 1 year old, are not available anymore as the company went bankrupt last year. Again they say they will only replace the damaged items, but the walls and tiles are ok at the moment and will only be damaged by the builders. Again where do I stand?

InsideInsurance

You need to check your policywordings..... budget policies tend to state that they do not cover matched pairs/ sets (ie they only pay for whats damaged not the whole set) and full fat policies will pay for the whole set even if just one item in it is lost/ damaged if it cannot be replaced.

That said as you will see from the FOS site (http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/75/75-household-insurance.html) the FOS generally insists that the insurer picks up 50% of the cost of replacing the other half even though the policy wording excludes it in budget policies

SeniorSam

Suggest that you write them a recorded delivery letter saying you are not happy about their offer and that unless a satisfactory offer is made to reinstate the damage, you will instruct a solicitor and the additional cost will be part of your claim.

Many companies try to get away with as little as possible. I had a similar experience with my insurance company and eventually, after some time, they settled.

Sam

TSx

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You need to check your policywordings..... budget policies tend to state that they do not cover matched pairs/ sets (ie they only pay for whats damaged not the whole set) and full fat policies will pay for the whole set even if just one item in it is lost/ damaged if it cannot be replaced.

That said as you will see from the FOS site (http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/75/75-household-insurance.html) the FOS generally insists that the insurer picks up 50% of the cost of replacing the other half even though the policy wording excludes it in budget policies

I don't think it's even a budget policy thing - I'd say 90% or higher of standard schemes have wording that excludes matching sets and suites. The only ones I can think of that aren't designed as high net worth policies are Marks and Spencers and John Lewis - there are others, and most insurers do premium policies including it, but generally it's excluded.

TSx

SeniorSam wrote: »

Suggest that you write them a recorded delivery letter saying you are not happy about their offer and that unless a satisfactory offer is made to reinstate the damage, you will instruct a solicitor and the additional cost will be part of your claim.

Many companies try to get away with as little as possible. I had a similar experience with my insurance company and eventually, after some time, they settled.

Sam

There is a perfectly good complaints route via the insurer and FOS. You can make your complaint by phone (as per FSA guidelines) although I personally recommend fax as the quickest way.

The FOS take a more lenient view than the courts - the courts are very likely to say that your insurance policy says they do not cover damage to undamaged items so they don't need to pay you, the FOS are likely to apply a fairness test (which the court won't) and suggest a 50% contribution to undamaged items.

CrucianCarp

Most policies have a 'matching of items clause' which is the situation you have here.

Your insurer will only cover the damaged items, i.e. if you damaged part of your 3 piece suite they wouldnt replace all 3 piece just because the new one doesnt match.

It is the same with tiles, kitchens etc. As you have been told above if you complain then they will offer you a contribution because if the complaint made it to FOS they would be told to contribute.

Your whole work top should be covered if you have a mitre joint in the corner as they will damage both sections during the removal.

InsideInsurance

TSx wrote: »

I don't think it's even a budget policy thing - I'd say 90% or higher of standard schemes have wording that excludes matching sets and suites.

I would argue that most "standard schemes" are budget products as 90% of people buy on price not cover