Advice needed liability insurance

marc1981

Hi, I recently had work done in my home, the workman ended up disturbing asbestos. This resulted in my family living in a hotel for over a week and a large amount of our possessions being thrown away.
The insurance company (axa ) have finally confirmed that the company is liable and it has a responsibly to return my house to the same condition it was in before the incident. Taking into account the age and condition of the contents. (basically they are not offering new for old)
I had never done any kind of insurance claim before and naturally I want to make sure I get a fair pay out.
Can anyone tell me what to expect? are they just going to tell me how much I am getting? or is their some kind of mediation involved?
Any tips for getting the fairest pay out would be a great help.

Thanks Marc

ps I have already submitted a list of contents removed.

pps I have also asked for compensation for the inconvenience this caused and the priceless items we have lost. any tips on this would be great also

hugoshavez

marc1981 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what to expect? are they just going to tell me how much I am getting? or is their some kind of mediation involved?
Any tips for getting the fairest pay out would be a great help.

Have they mentioned any plans to instruct a loss adjuster? It wouldn't hurt for you to get a couple of builders in to quote.

Or, if your claim is likely to reach £10-£15k+ you might want to think about instructing a loss assessor?

marc1981 wrote: »

pps I have also asked for compensation for the inconvenience this caused and the priceless items we have lost. any tips on this would be great also

Your hotel bills and increased expenses should be submitted and paid.

What kind of items do you mean in the part I've put in bold?

marc1981

Hi, Thank you for getting back to me.
It was mainly material possessions that have been disposed of, we have approximated the value of around £8,000.
No loss adjuster has been mentioned as of yet.

And I may have worded the part you outlined in bold wrong, the items were more irreplaceable than priceless, our babies first gifts, my wife's recently passed fathers items which she had kept etc.

As I said in my original post, it sounds like we aren't getting new for old. So we are looking for tips on making sure we get a fair offer, also do we have to accept whatever they offer or do we barter about the amount?

Thank you

InsideInsurance

As you are claiming from a third party then you are entitled to indemnity - ie being put back into the same financial position as you were before - rather than being entitled to new for old which you'd normally get from your own home insurer.

They will tell you what they think is a fair price but you are entitled to negotiate with them but generally you will need to provide evidence to support your arguments.

Given values they may appoint a loss adjuster, there are equivalent people you can appoint to represent yourself in the negotiations but they aren't cheap and their costs arent recoverable so probably not cost effective for this level of claim

hugoshavez

marc1981 wrote: »

And I may have worded the part you outlined in bold wrong, the items were more irreplaceable than priceless, our babies first gifts, my wife's recently passed fathers items which she had kept etc.

These things will certainly have a monetary value, but you're thinking more of the sentimental loss, right?

I wouldn't expect to be able to get much mileage from this, but it's worth raising during negotiations. If you have legal expenses included on your own home insurance, they could certainly help you to present your claim.

marc1981 wrote: »

As I said in my original post, it sounds like we aren't getting new for old. So we are looking for tips on making sure we get a fair offer, also do we have to accept whatever they offer or do we barter about the amount?

A good rule of thumb is to think how long you'd expect to get out of any particular item, eg you might expect to have a sofa for ten years. If it would cost £1,000 to replace and was six years old when the damage occurred, then the claim would be for

(10-6) x £1,000 = £400

You can see how open it all is to negotiation.

If you have the legal expenses cover, or even a helpline available to you, think about using it.