Huge neighbours house fire has impacted our home - Help !

therealhyper

Would this come under prepartion of a claim? if so, fair enough. But the policy is worded in such a way that they have a way to worm thier out unless your sharp enough...not me though :-(.

Yes, they suggested that...couldnt believe my ears! would have thought it is a h&s risk to do that...or work without it, on a damaged roof, with damaged beams !

sigh.

rs65

therealhyper wrote: »

Would this come under prepartion of a claim?

Yes, it is not covered.

aeb_2

If unhappy with the assessor I would go back to the insurer.

Last year I had a water damage to a ceiling from a bay window. I felt the assessor was hurried, in and out in 5 or so minutes and turned it down as 'wear and tear'. The lead roof was only 5 years old.

The following month when it came to renewal I rang to cancel. When they asked why I explained and suddenly the claim was met in full - ceiling and carpet. He said on the scale of how long things should last it's 80 years for a lead roof and as I had a receipt for the 5 year old roof it should have been paid without question. There were other points but I want to keep this short

So it is always worth going back to the insurer and asking.

therealhyper

Thanks all...appreciate your feedback very much.

I already spoke to the Insurance company I purchased the insurance from and they refered me to the below and said, yes surveyor costs are covered :

Your insurer also provides cover for:
C. Additional costs.
If the following costs are incurred with the consent of your insurer in
making good the insured loss or damage, your insurer will pay for:
i) Architects', surveyors', consulting engineers' and legal fees;

However, it seems, the Loss Adjuster working on behalf of the insurance company, are not accepting this but suggesting under writer is saying not covered..and then they told it a reasonble cost is accepted!

Its been a week, my house has had a fire, roof is badly damaged...and no fault of my own.]
I will contct solictor and ask them to work on my behalf..hopfully they are not too expensive.

Quentin

In post #16 you told us the adjuster refused to authorise payment for your assessors you now have "on board" (which is correct and should have been clear when you confirmed your arrangement with the assessors)

Those additional costs you quote as being covered aren't for your assessors fees.

usignuolo

My sister had a major flood caused by builders. Sad to say her own insurance assessors tried to get her to settle for a lot less than the cost of restoration (most of the ground floor, all the kitchen units etc) plus avoid providing the accommodation she were entitled do by trying to get her to settle for an inadequate lump sum and they were unpleasant to her about it. She is made of sterner stuff and insisted on her entitlements under the policy.

I had some water damage in my ceiling and the insurance assessor tried to finesse me out of part of my claim by saying I wasn't insured for that kind of damage abut he could check back to see if they would cover it as a "goodwill" gesture - if I settled for a lump sum there and then. Only problem for him, I was covered and knew I was.

It may be stressful but you must make yourself entirely familiar with your policy and if I was you, and the insurance company are being unhelpful, I would certainly not trust them and get my own assessor even if it meant paying them a percentage of the final award.

therealhyper

oh dear...
look what has been found..
these guys have a bad rep.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?187282-Cunningham-Lindsay-***WON***/page4

therealhyper

Quentin wrote: »

In post #16 you told us the adjuster refused to authorise payment for your assessors you now have "on board" (which is correct and should have been clear when you confirmed your arrangement with the assessors)

Those additional costs you quote as being covered aren't for your assessors fees.

They have said both, at diffrent times throughout this messy experince.

dacouch

I'm guessing the loss assessor you signed up told you his fees would be covered by your Insurance

TSx

Fees for your own assessor will not be covered - the 'surveyors fees' you refer to are to do with required fees as part of a claim. However, you can complain to your insurer if you disagree with this. There is a formal complaints procedure for insurance companies.

I deal with Cunningham Lindsay and they are generally good - however they will be under the direction of the insurer (every insurer will have slightly differing approaches to claims) - which insurer is it? Some individual adjusters will unfortunately be worse than others. I'm also curious about the value of the claim - usual practice for a large claim is to tender the work out, not offer a cash settlement within a couple of days....

Have you considered asking for them to do the work so you don't have to worry about settlement options? The advantage is that the insurer is then responsible for the workmanship involved, and if there are any issues, you have the protection of the financial ombudsman.