I Will Be Free

peaceandfreedom

IWillBeFree wrote: »

Any help with this, will be very much appreciated. I spoke to the surveyor sometime last week and he told me that as some of the works were completed before he arrived and also because he identified rising damp in the property, they would only be offering 50% of the buildings part of the insurance claim, minus the excess. He said although he could see the contents were damaged, they wouldn't accept liability for them but I could write and appeal that as he's not an expert on the contents side.

I received an email today, after chasing, the doesn't state any of the above. It simply says thanks for your claim, the amount we agreed is X and we will process it in your bank account in 7 days. the amount is around 45% of the claim.

I didn't agree to the amount offered and asked him to put it in writing so I can consider it.

Any ideas for the best way to respond to this non descript email? I have never made a claim before and this process has left me speechless. It has gone from a conversation to when he inspected the damage, without any invoices or receipts, to him offering an arbitrary amount.

I have someone I can talk to about this and I will ask them. Meanwhile, I would contact the insurance company again and say you are NOT accepting their offer and you will consider any monies submitted to your account to be part-payment of the final settlement. They can not just plump for 50% of the claim on the basis that there is rising damp - you are claiming for damage done by a leak.

Likewise with the contents - were the contents covered by the insurance policy? If so, what reason are they giving for not accepting liability - you need to get all this from them in writing. Sounds to me like the assessor is reducing the claim as much as possible rather than giving a fair assessment.

I will find out what I can from someone who knows about insurance claims and get back to you. Good luck!

peaceandfreedom

OK a bit more on the insurance claim - even if you do have rising damp, the insurance company would need to demonstrate that the repairs are also for damage caused by the rising damp, as opposed to the leak and they would also need to assess the proportion of damage caused by the rising damp. As there is a lot of money involved, it may well be worth your while getting an independent assessor to help you on this one.

Also, as I've said already, they would have to give a specific reason for not paying the contents claim - ask for one in writing (email is fine) so it is clear what they are saying.

Were you aware of any damp issues before the leak? While it is usual for insurance companies not to cover rising damp , it is unusual to reduce a leak claim on the basis of rising damp. So I would persist with them.

IWillBeFree

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

I have someone I can talk to about this and I will ask them. Meanwhile, I would contact the insurance company again and say you are NOT accepting their offer and you will consider any monies submitted to your account to be part-payment of the final settlement. They can not just plump for 50% of the claim on the basis that there is rising damp - you are claiming for damage done by a leak.

Likewise with the contents - were the contents covered by the insurance policy? If so, what reason are they giving for not accepting liability - you need to get all this from them in writing. Sounds to me like the assessor is reducing the claim as much as possible rather than giving a fair assessment.

I will find out what I can from someone who knows about insurance claims and get back to you. Good luck!

I really appreciate that, thank you PAF!


I am going to email the insurance company tomorrow - I wanted to research first before responding. I found on here, that I should be liaising with the insurance company directly whilst the email I have is from the surveyors company.


I should add that there is no rising damp issue and the builder I used confirmed that. I am happy to get an independent assessment done, if need be, but as I had a leak, there will be some dampness!


I have good buildings and contents cover, so that is not the issue. They are just reducing the claim, as you say. It is so frustrating as what he said on the phone, is not reflected on the letter so it makes it harder to challenge it line by line, if you see what I mean.


I am very grateful you are helping me on this, thank you x

in_need_of_direction

I'd suggest that you include something along the lines that unless they can provide evidence to inform their decision, you will be making recourse to professional advice and will expect to be compensated for this should they be found to be at fault.

IWillBeFree

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

I'd suggest that you include something along the lines that unless they can provide evidence to inform their decision, you will be making recourse to professional advice and will expect to be compensated for this should they be found to be at fault.

Thank you inneedof direction. Im preparing a response today and will definitely include something along the lines you suggested. Fingers crossed!

IWillBeFree

So, today was a productive day - which is great as it means my recent depression downward spiral has been avoided for now at least.


Wrote a polite letter to the insurance company, listing all the items that I am claiming for and advised them I am not accepting their offer. Although it would be nice to get some cash back into my depleted bank account, I have to think of the bigger picture. I am not claiming for anything more than restoring my home to how it was and replacing the damaged items. I am being extremely careful not to claim for anything that is not linked to the damage so they have no reason to turn it down. We will see.


Been checking the bank accounts and credit cards tonight as I am yet again with a working phone! Nothing exciting to report, as although payments have been made, interest pretty much wiped out any difference. Overdraft charges will be added at the end of the month for over £100 so may end up looking worse off that what's in my signature Still, ploughing on....


Lots of chores and cleaning tonight as well as a long walk with the hounds. Making the most of these wonderful evenings.


Lunch and dinner was home made so no expenditure there but I had to buy some cleaning products and a new ironing board so £30 went on that.


Time for bed with a little glass of wine - a small pleasure I will savour

banwa

Hello IWBF,

My word you are being tested, what a run of bad luck.:mad: You sound so positive, you know this is temporary. I remember when we first started out, all sorts of stuff being flung at us (v expensive car problems for us) and thinking it would be like this forever. But things have a way of coming together, especially if you keep at it.

Best of luck, everything will be ok, I'm rooting for you:T

IWillBeFree

Nearly the weekend! I am not sure how I made it this week as it has not been great.

A very stressful time at work, with lots of deadlines and pressure. Not helped by the fact that the boy/man friend/fella/other half had a falling out last weekend and we haven't reconciled yet. We are usually a totally loved up couple that appreciate each other but for some reason, all that went out of the window and we don't seem to know how to talk to each other anymore. I am really hoping we fix things as I really feel if that goes wrong too after every other disaster I've had this year, I will just not be able to keep going

On the more positive news, after a lot of chasing and nagging, the insurance has made a partial payment for the building works. I am still chasing about the rest and hopefully one day, this will be finalised! As someone that has never made a claim previously on any insurance and hope never to have to call upon them again, this has been a horrendous experience. Not what I expected from a company like Legal and General.

Payday this week so went a little off the rails with my spending, in as much as I bought a couple of books at book store price, as opposed to online price, and had a great night out with a friend having a few glasses of wine. Back to belt tightening now though!

Made a big decision. I pulled out of my employers pension scheme. I have been in it less than 2 years (new job) and therefore, I am entitled to a refund of my contributions. I will use some of it for debt payment and some of it to rebuild the buffer I used up for the leak works. I know I need to have a buffer, for big annual costs, as well as life's emergencies - which are coming thick and fast at the moment! I know it's abig thing not to contribute to a pension but, my thinking is that once I am out of the position I am, I will be able to throw addisional contributions at it. My priority at the moment is debt busting.

Speaking of priorities, I am still very confused about the snowball calculator. It tells me I should tackle the 0% cards first but the others are eating up any repayments just for the interest. I need to have a better look at prioritising, once I am in a position to pay more than the minimal payments on anything. Can't wait for things to feel on an even keel and I can see that blooming number start going down!

IWillBeFree

Quiet weekend after a very busy week. Met a friend for lunch yesterday, which she paid for, and then we went to the cinema, which I paid for. A nice afternoon and not too costly. Spent the evening with the fella, trying to work things out but there is still tension. Here's hoping it will go away soon as we have exhausted the talking for now!


Spent time updating YNAB and checking bills this morning. The debt has reduced a bit although not as much as I'd like, obviously!


Been trying to work out some priorities and they rely on a. insurance paying for my claim and b. pension refund which should be about £3,500. Once I have that money, I think the order will be:
1. Replace the floors downstairs as cheaply as possible
2. Replace key items such as vacuum cleaner and iron that got damaged
3. Replace the boiler
4. Replace the leaking kitchen tap
5. Put aside for the car insurance coming up in October (new driver so estimating c £600)
6. Put aside for the car MOT which seems to cost £300 in total roughly each year
7. Leave a buffer in the bank account and
8. Throw what ever is left to debt


The lodger has made it clear he is very unhappy about items 1 - 4 outstanding and the inconvenience he has suffered as a result. Can't say I blame him, it has not been easy living here for me either! Hopefully, if he can see I am fixing things, he will be patient and not leave. He's a good lodger, although I've never had one before so can't compare, but he's very tidy, respects boundaries and he pays rent on time. So I am keen to keep him here if I can.


Lots of sorting stuff out for the next car boot sale/ebay today. I have a box room that should bring me £200 roughly with stuff I no longer need/belonged to the ex. It's a nice incentive to think that way and besides, once it is all gone, I will have a nice, tidy, smart room which will feel great!


Better crack on, despite the disgusted look by the hounds who would rather go out!

mumblingtaff

Sorry to hear about your man troubles - it's horrible isn't it? Mine seem to have resolved themselves now but they clouded everything for a while and the only time I didn't think about it was when I was at work as I just didn't have the time.

Hope the lodger stays with you, I'm sure that if he can see progress then it will be ok .
Have a good woofer walk xx