Buckled wood flooring - Household claim?

huckster

WombleSW20 wrote: »

Sorry about earlier - there appears to be problem on the site. In response:

- The policy documents do not state anywhere that I am liable for investigative costs.
- There is inconsistency in their approach. Why have I not been charged the cost of the initial claims call or the engineer to conduct the initial investigation?
- Surely asking me to pay an upfront 'excess' at this point in the claim is creating a barrier to progressing the claim. Does this conflict with TCF outcomes 3 (Clear Information) and 6 (No barriers)?

Thanks

What are your expectations of the Insurers in this situation ?

Are these reasonable to expect ?

If you want the Insurers to start investigating buckled flooring, when there is no evidence of an insured peril being in play, then you would expect Insurers to send someone around every time there is some issue which a householder thinks the Insurers might pay for. This would make it very expensive for the Insurers and no doubt they would have to increase their premiums.

I think you are going to have to get someone out that deals with flooring issues. They might have some knowledge as to the possible cause. If a local flooring company thinks they may get some work out of you, they may visit for free.

WombleSW20_2

My expectations of them are to make an assessment of the cause without passing on the investigation cost to me.

It feels a bit like a private medical insurer turning around to a someone who's had a heart attack and saying "We think there's something wrong with your heart but you have to cover the cost of the open heart surgery so we can check what it is".

It just doesn't feel equitable that the insurer expects me to cover the costs of their claims process.

InsideInsurance

WombleSW20 wrote: »

My expectations of them are to make an assessment of the cause without passing on the investigation cost to me.

It feels a bit like a private medical insurer turning around to a someone who's had a heart attack and saying "We think there's something wrong with your heart but you have to cover the cost of the open heart surgery so we can check what it is".

It just doesn't feel equitable that the insurer expects me to cover the costs of their claims process.

You are not being passed the investigation costs you are being required to pay the excess.

PMI would be the same, as soon as your GP refers you to a private consultant your excess is payable towards the consultation or open heart surgery. You dont pay the full cost of it just your agreed excess.

In some cases the in house investigators will decide that it is not covered by the insurance and so will simply decline the claim. If you want that decision reversed then you do have to pay your own investigator to disprove the findings of their investigators. In this case the investigation cost would be payable in full by yourself but would be reimbursable if it supported your case (of cause subject to the normal excess).

Ultimately if you arent happy paying your excess then register a complaint with them and if desired after they respond then take the matter to the FOS for a ruling.

huckster

If that is the case, then all Insurers will fall short of your expectations. That is not how it works these days. Insurers don't send anyone out, unless there is evidence of an insured peril being in play and even then it would depend on the likely cost of the claim.

To move forward on this, you are going to have to gather evidence and talk to your Insurers again. As suggested get a flooring specialist out to have a look at the damage, confirm the cause and to quote for the work that needs doing. They may not charge for such a visit and if it helps you progress this, then it is worth doing.