New for Old?

JinxyJay

I'm new to this forum so please be gentle with me...

We have home contents insurance with co-op insurance which we have NEVER made a claim against, or our previous insurance for that matter.

Policy says we are insured for accidental damage on a new for old basis if they agree to a replacement, which they have.

Basic details are we have a cooker with a ceramic glass top/hob which has been smashed when a pan fell off the cupboard on to it. We would have been happy with a repair had we not have had to wait the 4-6 week minimum before new stock arrives which the insurance agreed was an unreasonable length of time to be without a cooker.

They have now offered us £200 towards a new cooker which we think is derisory as we cannot get a like for like replacement for under £400. The cooker is only 2 1/2 years old and is also a slim version to fit the gap in our kitchen.

What exactly does new for old mean in insurance terms and how much leeway is there between what they consider to be a suitable replacement and one of simililar specifications to our existing cooker. Do they take money off for age or allow for inflation?

So many questions I know but I will be grateful for answers.

Thank you.

InsideInsurance

They should be offering the money or a replacement of a similar specification model. It doesn't reflect the age of the item (unless the policy is only new for old for items under X years) and does reflect changes in prices - I say changes in prices rather than inflation as evidently a "cutting edge" PC from 5 years ago is now below the entry level items and so the value of a like for like replacement will have gone down.

I assume the £200 is pre the excess being deducted? Obviously if you have a £200 excess and think the cooker is worth £400 then you'd only receive £200.

In the first instance speak to them on the phone advising you have been unable to find a similar cooker for the price they're offering and the cheapest one you've found is the £400. If needs be you can afterwards write a letter of complaint enclosing catalogue pages/ website prints showing the prices of like for like replacements.

JinxyJay

Thanks for your reply.

Just to clarify they have offered us £300 pre excess (ex is £100) so we would receive £200. Obviously this means that we pay the £100 which leaves us with £300 to find a replacement which we have been unsuccessful in finding for that price. The closest we can find are both around the £400 mark.

To cap it all, when we called them this morning they are saying that because it CAN be fixed they are only prepared to pay the £300 less excess, regardless of us being lucky to have a cooker in time for Christmas. How can a family be expected to manage for 6 weeks +/- without a cooker? We've been without for 6 days now and it's been very difficult to say the least.

JinxyJay

Update:

Have spoken to the claims department supervisor today and she tells us that we either accept the £200 or wait the 6 weeks to have it repaired. It doesn't matter that we will be without a basic household appliance for all this time it's not their problem, if it can be repaired that is all they are prepared to pay for, regardless of it not being enough for a similar cooker. Is this correct?

dacouch

Is the cook a separate item to the hob ?

rs65

JinxyJay wrote: »

Update:

Have spoken to the claims department supervisor today and she tells us that we either accept the £200 or wait the 6 weeks to have it repaired. It doesn't matter that we will be without a basic household appliance for all this time it's not their problem, if it can be repaired that is all they are prepared to pay for, regardless of it not being enough for a similar cooker. Is this correct?

Sounds like they are offering the cost of repair, or you can wait to have it repaired. Its not the insurance companies fault that the part isn't available. Your issue is with the manufacturer.

Have you tried ebay for the part? Maybe google the part number and see if anyone can provide it sooner.

JinxyJay

dacouch wrote: »

Is the cook a separate item to the hob ?

No, the cooker is one free-standing unit, not separate oven and hob.

JinxyJay

rs65 wrote: »

Have you tried ebay for the part? Maybe google the part number and see if anyone can provide it sooner.

We have tried everywhere we have come across that may or do stock Beko spares, including eBay. Most don't even hold spares for that particular model as it's no longer in production. Even Beko themselves don't hold the glass as they say it's not terribly common for it to be damaged.

In actual fact I would dearly love to have my cooker repaired as I've only had it 2 1/2 years, since my new kitchen was fitted. Over several weeks I researched and hunted extensively to find the exact one I wanted and would dearly love to have it repaired. So cross it got smashed...