Cunningham Lindsey Loss Adjusters Visit

kate6000

Hi,
Hoping somebody can help.

I discovered I had been burgled on Friday morning, I phoned the police straight away who came round and did a report and sent round the CSI guys to look at shoeprints and try and get fingerprints etc. I had electronics such as games consoles, cameras dvd players stolen along with all the wrapped christmas presents :mad:

I phoned my insurance company on Friday morning to inform them and they arranged a company to come out and secure the house and I was told that the claims department would call me later

Roll on 4 hours and I get a call from Cunningham Lindsey telling me they would be dealing with the case and they will come round on the 29th to discuss the case and have said they would like to see evidence of what I have lost (they stated receipts, photos or instruction manuals are acceptable)

Now a couple of questions:

• Why is a face to face required, is this to ensure its not a fraudulent claim?
• What will happen at the visit, is it just discussing what happened and sharing the evidence?
• I have evidence for 95% of the stuff and was going to put together a folder of copies of everything for them to take away - is this a good idea to speed things up?
• Once this is done what happens next and how long will it take to resolve?
• A lot of the gifts were bought online from major companies such as Amazon, is order confirmations from the "my account" section of the website suitable in place of a receipt?
• Any do's and don't or other tips

As you can imagine I want this to go smoothly to ensure a swift resolution and conclusion. I'm a natural worrier and i'm scared that they will be trying everything they can to not pay out so want to do everything in my power to recover what was stolen

Thanks
Kate

brownie4583

Hi,
Cunningham Lindsay are loss adjusters and they will send someone out to take a statement,view any photos and receipts etc and they will also do a 'risk assessment'
Everything in your house eg.tv's,computers,furniture,clothing,electrical appliances,curtains,blinds,cutlery,everything,then that figure is calculated and then compared against the sum you are insured for,bearing in mind usually only 1 third of your contents insurance is paid out on high risk items like jewellery etc,if this figure is grossly inflated by them,as mine was,they can then render you underinsured!I had a 6 month nightmare with C & L,they inflated all my figures,eg £1,000 for a wooden fence panel,£4,000 for clothing for my wife and myself,£1,000 for cutlery in the kitchen draw to name a few!!
They are really slow,you cannot get to speak to anyone,quite frankly they are totally incompetent,but i do hope you have a better experience than i did!
My claim was rejected and my policy cancelled because of their ludicrous figures,but 7 months later,after contacting my solicitor and also the financial ombudsmen,i have been paid and had my policy cancellation withdrawn.!
I will be very interested in how your claim progresses,please keep us informed.Good luck,you might need it!

kate6000

Hi
Thanks for your feedback

I had already read some of your other posts about your bad experience, it does sound a nightmare to say the least!

Out of interest, which "branch" did you end up dealing with?

Thanks
Kate

brownie4583

Glasgow but Leeds are as bad,apperently!
Keep me informed of you progress.Cheers.

Muscle750

Ive dealt with C and L and they are nothing short of useless i had a claim for storm damage basically the chimney came throu the roof it killed the back boiler completely they intially said the boiler was repairable which it was quite evident it wasnt then they said they would pay £1100 for a enginner to come put in a temporary flu and attempt to repair boiler, when he turned up took one look and said im wasting my time i phoned them back told them and then they agreed after wed had no hot water or heating for a month in winter to replace the boiler and as they had to fit the most economic boiler i ended up with a nice new combi boiler and the intial enginner told me they are nothing short of useless.

Ch1ckenlady

Kate6000, I am sorry to hear of the loss. The other listings have clearly had unfortunate experiences with C&L but they're not all bad!

A lot of Insurers nowadays choose to involve a loss adjuster to act on their behalf. Reasons vary. What you need to remember is that C&L are acting as your insurer though.

At the visit, the adjuster should go though background and underwriting questions with you, check that the cover provided by your policy reflects your needs then move onto the loss itself (circumstances, details of claim etc.). The adjuster is often working to a strict timescale so it's useful to organise yourself with a list and description of the loss items) and supporting evidence. They'll request original documentation so keep copies for your own reference. With online transactions, the payment confirmation should suffice. When it comes to evidence, as a strict rule, it's proof of purchase (as opposed to manuals/photos) and/or valuations (jewellery and the like) which is preferred.

The adjuster may or may not progress the claim at the visit. They should explain what happens next. If you are in any doubt about anything, just ask them.

If you haven't done so already, it may be best to familiarise yourself with your policy and the cover provided (excesses, limits etc.).

brownie4583

and be prepared for a long drawn out,frustrating nightmare....but i really do hope not!
Keep pushing them because C&L will do absolutely nothing if you don't!

kate6000

Thanks for all your views/tips

I now have a pretty solid evidence folder. I would say 90% is receipts/online transactions and the other 10% being photos, warranty booklets or nothing

On the upside, for some of the things we have the weaker evidence for we still have half the product e.g a tv with no remote or cables, a docking station remote with no docking station. Its amazing what people do and don't steal.

I suppose its now just waiting for the adjuster to visit and see how it goes, i'll let you all know how simple/painful it is

Wish me luck!

Kate

brownie4583

The evidence is not really a problem,it's the 'risk assessment' and the insurance company figures and valuation that is the problem.
After i claimed i was told they only pay out 1 third contents as high risk,as the majority of the stolen items were jewellery it was all classed as high risk,then the loss adjuster inflated all the figures on the 'risk assessment' form,so the discrepency rendered me underinsured!I didn't know about any of this until i submitted a claim.

steste63

brownie4583 wrote: »

Hi,
Cunningham Lindsay are loss adjusters and they will send someone out to take a statement,view any photos and receipts etc and they will also do a 'risk assessment'
Everything in your house eg.tv's,computers,furniture,clothing,electrical appliances,curtains,blinds,cutlery,everything,then that figure is calculated and then compared against the sum you are insured for,bearing in mind usually only 1 third of your contents insurance is paid out on high risk items like jewellery etc,if this figure is grossly inflated by them,as mine was,they can then render you underinsured!I had a 6 month nightmare with C & L,they inflated all my figures,eg £1,000 for a wooden fence panel,£4,000 for clothing for my wife and myself,£1,000 for cutlery in the kitchen draw to name a few!!
They are really slow,you cannot get to speak to anyone,quite frankly they are totally incompetent,but i do hope you have a better experience than i did!
My claim was rejected and my policy cancelled because of their ludicrous figures,but 7 months later,after contacting my solicitor and also the financial ombudsmen,i have been paid and had my policy cancellation withdrawn.!
I will be very interested in how your claim progresses,please keep us informed.Good luck,you might need it!

Hi Brownie4583

Can i ask if you took any action via your solicitor against your insurance company ? who resolved your case your solicitor of the ombudsman ?
Im in a similar situation

many thanks

mozidur

I had a dealing with C&L but not for contents insurance, they were representing TP in a car incident and they were the ones that were going to pay me. and boy do they delay the money getting to you. the initial payment for my car took them nearly 4 months to pay and several calls. and after my legal team had won the case for loss of earnings, ETC that payment also nearly took 6 weeks. i pray i never have to deal with them ever again