Are my Home Insurers actions reasonable?

DP87

Hi,

I have home emergency cover with my home insurance which entitles me to £1000 for boiler repairs and £500 towards a replacement boiler if needed.

My boiler began leaking and smelling of gas on Wednesday afternoon so I called the 24hr helpline. A couple of hours later I was informed someone couldn't come out that evening but would be able to come between 12 - 5 on the Thursday afternoon.

After numerous phone calls an engineer finally arrived at 8.30pm on the Thursday evening and informed me that the primary heater exchange needed replacing. He claimed he could fix it the following day but needed the insurer to give the go ahead first.

I have called everyday since and found out that now, on Monday, it is beyond economical repair and I will be sent a cheque for £500. This will take 7 - 10 working days to arrive and then will take a further 3 - 5 days to cash. Then I will need to find a new boiler and order it myself.

Is this a reasonable time frame for me to have to wait? And if not what action can I take? I have two kids under 3 and three days of cold nights have already been difficult, never mind having to wait another 2 weeks+. Using the immersion heater for hot water is likely costing me a fortune as well.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

GRM

Sounds reasonable to me unless the insurance policy said they would pay out more quickly than that.

Why not start the process of getting a replacement fitted now? The insurance payout and you paying whoever fits the new one are likely to be pretty close together.

rs65

The only bit I find unreasonable is 7-10 days to issue a cheque. Ask for a bank transfer.

But as GRM says, start the replacement process yourself as soon as you can. Why wait.

SuperHan

Find a new boiler, order it, pay for it with the cash when it clears?

Ideally use a credit card, they are unparalleled when it comes to situations like this with small cash flow issues.

hugoshavez

rs65 wrote: »

The only bit I find unreasonable is 7-10 days to issue a cheque. Ask for a bank transfer.

But as GRM says, start the replacement process yourself as soon as you can. Why wait.

Probably an outside estimate to manage expectations?