Buidings insurance and loss adjustor - help!

big_gaz_2

My flat was recently flooded.

The flat is in a liveable condition.

I am covered to live elsewhere whilst the works are carried out. The cost of a "serviced apartment" for circa 10 days in Edinburgh during the fringe is about 3 grand.

I spoke to the loss adjustor about the cost. He said as an alternative they could offer me an "allowance" of 500 quid if I stay in the flat whilst work is carried out.

Does anyone have any experience of this ? Is that a reasonable figure ? I replied to him by email asking what is the most they could offer me under the terms of the policy ? Im not being greedy as I am well out of pocket already due to flooring and excesses etc

PasturesNew

Serviced flats are very expensive. Does it have to be while the Fringe is on?

A regular, small/cheap B&B, when the Fringe isn't on, would work out more reasonable.

rs65

£500 sounds reasonable to me.

I doubt there will be a policy limit in the terms of your policy for this. Insurers will be happy with anything less than the cost of renting. If you push them too far they will probably just judge you can live it anyway.

xMonsoonx

You can generally only have alternative accommodation if your property is uninhabitable (no working bathroom, bedroom or no cooking facilities etc), and even then it will only be based on a similar property to the one you insure.

In short, if your property is deemed uninhabitable by your adjuster and insurer, you can only have a serviced apartment if you currently insure one!

The terms (a limits) of alternative accommodation will be in your policy booklet.

big_gaz_2

Thanks. I am covered for temporary accommodation in my policy. I'm insured so I don't give a hoot if the fringe is on or not or how much it costs - that's why I bought insurance!!

500 quid equates to 50 a day - will it buy my family lunch n dinner and entertainment all day - no. 20 quid a day for my dog in day care. Just wondered if anyone else had experience of this.

somalt

If your home is uninhabitable your policy should cover you for comparable accommodation, so a hotel would be a possibility rather than a serviced apartment.

If the home is liveable, and there is no suitable accommodation available then they may put off the work until there is somewhere available for you to go.

In terms of an inconvenience payment it's meant to meet any additional costs you incur. In a normal week you would be paying for food, so they are paying you an additional amount to reflect you may pay more for take away. Typically you'd be looking at £10 per day for an adult an £5 for a child.
Check if your policy covers for the dog, usually it's only members of the family not pets.

*Scarlett

Many buildings policies will offer alternative accommodation - poss 10% of the sum insured or it might be a finite figure.

I would imagine most policies that have this type of cover would cover £3k.

However the home would have to be uninhabitable. If they are offering you £500 to stay while the work is carried out and you feel this is not enough to sustain your normal lifestyle - (you would have to eat take aways, no tv, etc) then just claim for the alternative accommodation and you'll just have your normal expenses.

Obviously the amount claimed may affect future premiums but if the flat requires a lot of work then the £3k might not be an issue.

Have you actually been flooded ie from an external source - river, drain, etc? Or was it an escape of water claim?