Insurance Claim for carpet Help Please

rach29

Hello all.

I want to claim on my contents insurance for a lounge carpet which was damaged when my toddler tipped a bottle of lucozade on it :eek: :eek:

I mopped it up a.s.a.p & then Tried to remove the stain using Carpet Power spray (usually brilliant) but to no avail. I am left with a large orange stain in the middle of the carpet which is part of a lounge/diner (through room)

I have checked my policy which is with Payment Shield underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance and although we have accidental damage cover the policy small print says "we will require a reciept, valuation, or suitable proof of purchase at the point of claim for any item which exceeds £250 in value"

Now we moved into this house 12months ago so we didn't buy the carpet. That said it is a good wool (probably Wilton) carpet which was probably fitted only a couple of months before we moved in! But we have no way of proving the original cost.


So what should we do???

rach29

Bump.... anyone?

Alfrescodave

When we claimed following a burst radiator, a few years ago now, the company actually sent out someone to inspect the damaged carpet. As with your situation, the carpet was in the house when we moved in. The guy inspected the carpet, and said this is a "good" carpet and will cost £x to replace. To be honest we were extremely surprised at his generous valuation. Perhaps your insurance company has a similar service

cattie

If you make an insurance claim they will probably not want to pay for a new carpet, but only the cleaning of the carpet. Industrial cleaners are used to getting stains out of carpets in hotels, cruise ships & the like, so your stain shouldn't be a problem for them.

rach29

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

Is it worth getting a cleaner in ourselves first then?

When we moved in we had a cleaner in who did the whole house for just over £100 & our excess is £100 so maybe we should do this first? (He also happened to mention what a good carpet it was)

CelticStar

When I dropped a mug of black tea on our carpet the insurance company asked a local carpet cleaning firm to send them a letter confirming that the stain could not be cleaned. When, the following year, a stain remover that I was using to remove a mark from our curtains dripped onto our new carpet and discoloured it the new isurance company sent out their own assessor to see whether the carpet was beyond repair, we then had to choose a carpet from their supplier - who were very good - to the value of the old carpet. I was so worried when I damaged the second carpet having only had the previous one a year that I nearly didn't claim at all in cause they thought it was some sort of fraudulent claim. But, in hindsight, I think the insurance company could see we were a genuine claimant as we had never claimed before (or since) and had two claims in quick succession so we were obviously not just replacing our carpet every so many years like some do. Needless to say I am very, very careful nowadays!

lisyloo

Is it worth getting a cleaner in ourselves first then?

I would say it's certainly worth getting a quote, especially as you know what the substance is.

They should be able to tell you beforehand whether they can remove it or not.
I wouldn't have thought that it would present professional cleaners with too much of a challenge.

rach29

Thanks all,

I think I'll try a cleaning firm first then. No point getting the insurance Co involved if it will clean for less than my excess!!