Insurance repairs - how long is a reasonable time?

Carl_Rogers_2

In brief, last June my bathroom flooded, ruining the kitchen ceiling and units etc below. At the time this was the last straw and I suffered an anxiety related illness for a few months, which delayed the start of the restoration work (although the kitchen units were swollen and there was a bulge in the ceiling, the house was functional and I could make do).

Once I was better I gave the insurance company's approved contractor the go ahead in November (the original loss assessor had offered an insulting amount as a cash settlement, which I turned down very sensibly as it seems the actual work has run into many times that amount).

They ummed and arred, then said they couldn't start before Christmas due to the floods in Cumbria and being inundated, and didn't want to leave me with a half done job over the festive season.

Eventually they booked in a day to do stripping works and assess further. So in January I had my kitchen stripped of wallpaper, a big hole ripped out of the ceiling where the bulge was, and covered with plastic sheeting nailed on (directly above my cooker, despite plastic sheeting debris keeps dropping on my head now and then), and my light fittings in both kitchen and living room were taken down and left with bare bulbs prior to the work re-commencing.

In the meantime they agreed to put in a new kitchen instead of just repairing the dilapidated old one, but this took another month trying to fit in surveyor visits, get designs done etc.

I am self employed and work with vulnerable people (I am a bereavement counsellor) where I can't just cancel on people at short notice, so I keep giving this insurance approved building company week long slots months in advance to get the work done, and what usually happens is they don't get back to me, time goes on, it ends up being too late, rinse and repeat, I suspect they have too much work on but I certainly don't feel like a priority despite living in a semi derelict house at present.

I believe policies are supposed to be delivered so as to ensure the ability to carry out work and leisure activities as normally as possible, but to be honest I can't use my house for anything at the moment, guests are out of the question, and the delays with the building company mean that by the time they don't commit to the time slots I have tried to put aside, it's too late to do anything else with the time (eg holidays etc are all booked up so I can't even get away from the mess).

So it's nearly 5 months since I gave the go ahead for works to start, and 2 months since they left my kitchen a stripped mess with baseboards removed from kitchen units and big hole in the ceiling and no main light in the living room.

I think I'm being incredibly patient but it's not going to last much longer. What rights do I have to get this work done in a timely fashion that has minimal impact on my income (a week off work to accommodate building etc is a loss of £500-700 - I have already lost that amount once by blocking off a week in Feb during which the building company failed to arrange to do any more work so I was left twiddling my thumbs having booked no work myself).

I have pointed out the both the building company and insurance that I suffered from anxiety and stress issues following the flood itself, but they don't seem in a hurry to get any of this done and at the moment it looks like this situation is going to go on indefinitely which isn't doing wonders for my state of mind!

Should I make formal complaint at this point? Sometimes it seems that's the only way to get these companies to do anything, as being reasonable and patient with the building company seems to have got me absolutely nowhere!

huckster

Best to speak to your Insurers and see what the best way forward is.

It probably would have been better to have been put in temporary accommodation and for the work to be done over a few weeks. Instead it appears that you have tried to get the work done when diaries have enabled it. So it has gone on and on.

My neighbours when they have work done, just hand over their keys and just let the builders get on with it, while they are out. Many people would not like this and prefer to be around.

Carl_Rogers_2

Thanks, I have emailed the personal claim consultant they appointed to oversee things, I'm not sure he was aware of the delays caused by their appointed contractor but he is now, certainly!

I would love to get up, set the builders going then go away to work for the day. Unfortunately my working day starts at about 2pm and ends about 10pm and last time I tried to get up 5 hours early to accommodate the wallpaper stripping kitchen ceiling destruction etc at 8am, and then go to work as normal later, it didn't end well and I had to cancel my clients because I was dead on my feet by 4pm...

How are people who work shifts etc supposed to get all this done? Surely they can't expect me to go without sleep and/or stop work for the duration? The only sane solution seems to be for them to put me up somewhere while I get on with my life as normal for a couple of weeks, perhaps? Mind you the last time I mentioned alternative accommodation was when they were testing the ceiling for asbestos and when I asked if they'd cover me staying somewhere else while they removed the asbestos they said no! Thankfully there was no asbestos or I'd have had it dripping in my pan of baked beans (my staple food apart from takeaways for the last 2 months) from the hole in the ceiling.

You're right Huckster, trying to work around diaries is clearly not working, I can't stop work as then bills go unpaid, so I guess the insurance need to offer me a solution. The problem with their approved contractor is that they will assign a day for job x (as previously with the wallpaper stripping and kitchen ceiling ripping out) but don't seem able to string several dates together, so I could end up with a situation where they rip out the old kitchen and then I am left with no kitchen for weeks or months again.

There has to be a way to get this done, I'll see what they come back with eh.

Carl_Rogers_2

Here is an example of what I believe to be unnecessary delays:

A month ago, they sent kitchen designer out, I discussed everything with them and the contracting company, and asked to have a new cooker included at my own cost. They said fine.

A month on, I chased them to enquire when works would be starting since I approved the kitchen design etc 2 weeks ago. They said, "Oh, we need to send out a surveyor and electrician to measure up for the cooker so we can quote you on it before we can proceed any further".

Now could that not have been arranged a month ago, or am I missing something?

TSx

Just some general advice having seen more of these kind of claims than I should, the key to getting this resolved quickly is persistence. If you feel like that may contribute more to your stress you may have to go down the route of waiting for them to review a complaint formally and potentially involving the ombudsman but this could take months.

Ring them (or write to them, but ringing is generally quicker). Ring the insurer, not the contractor or loss adjuster - it is important that you communicate with the people who have responsibility for handling the complaint. Politely tell them that you can't cope with the hassle of dealing with the claim and they need to find a solution to help you. Explain all the problems you've had so far.

The property may not be strictly uninhabitable (I'm a bit concerned about your comment regarding baked beans - are there full cooking facilities? are they paying you any kind of food allowance if not?) but it is clear that if your working day is 2pm-10pm then the disturbing your sleep carrying out work at 9am in the morning isn't going to work. They should be working around this - which may mean funding alternative accommodation.

If your initial conversation doesn't go well (this will very much depend on the insurer - some will empower their handlers to make all the decisions there and then, some will have a file handler who will need to review and some are just very poor at customer service), or you feel like you're not getting anywhere then ask for them to issue a final decision confirming that they aren't able to help as you want to go to the ombudsman. Again, depending on insurer, most will tell you a complaints team will need to review the file - some will have the complaint reviewed by the handler you're talking to. In some cases this may slow down the process (if a different team need to review) so if you feel like you're getting somewhere then I'd hold off on making a formal complaint.

If they say they need to speak to the contractors/adjuster then be reasonable but give the a deadline to give you an update (I would generally say within 4-6 hours is reasonable). Chase the insurer regularly (every time something doesn't happen that should) - there is nothing that the staff hate more than being chased because the contractors or adjusters aren't doing their job properly, and it will see action on the claim.

Good luck and I hope it gets resolved quickly for you.

Can you also name the insurer? You may not want to but it's always useful to know

Carl_Rogers_2

I have cooking facilities, well I have a cooker, but the kitchen is such a mess and debris keeps dropping from the hole in the ceiling, am sure the plastic they put over the hole would have been good for a few days or weeks but not sufficient for months, especially being right above the cooke

Earlier this afternoon, I actually emailed the entire scenario to the personal claims consultant they appointed. I suggested alternative accommodation as a way of getting round the issues and his reply states that he can't do that and disuption to my work and routine is "unavoidable"?!?!?! So I am going to push on that.

His only other options were to have a word with the contractors and ask them to stop unnecessary delays, or invoice them for work done so far and give me a cash settlement so I can appoint my own contractors - which after all this time would be nonsense and there's no guarantee I'm going to get much different - without the safety net of it being the insurer's responsibility.

Is it worth fighting for the AA - all I want is a cheap place near work so I can carry on earning a living and not end up burnt out from adding 4-5 hours onto the beginning of my working days while this is done.

Is there some bit of legislation that says I have the right to minimal disruption?

rs65

Carl_Rogers wrote: »

Is it worth fighting for the AA - all I want is a cheap place near work so I can carry on earning a living and not end up burnt out from adding 4-5 hours onto the beginning of my working days while this is done.

I'm struggling to understand this. You work 2 to 10 and would have to get up 5 hours early for the repairs. I work 9-5 but am up about 6am and go to bed about midnight.

Couldn't you just get up at 8am and go to bed after work? Still gives you 8 hours plus in bed.

Carl_Rogers_2

We all need different amounts of sleep, and I do a mentally and emotionally challenging job dealing with trauma and mental health issues.

I should perhaps correct that I am client facing from 2-10 then I have about 2-3 hours paperwork to do when I get home. I also need to eat, do laundry, shop, pay bills, etc - or would you be happy finishing work at 5 and then going to bed at 6pm?

I tried this once when they came to do the wallpaper stripping. I got up at 8, twiddled my thumbs until mid afternoon, and due to the sharp change in my normal sleeping patterns and routine I was hardly capable of anything, let alone working with traumatic bereavements, by about 3pm. So yes that seems a sensible idea but in practice it just doesn't work for me.

Carl_Rogers_2

AA all sounds very grand, all I'm after is a couple of nights in a Travelodge near work so I can just go about my business with as little disruption to my sleep patterns as possible on the days they're doing works, if my sleep patterns are disrupted I struggle to function, I may not get up at the same time as some people but not all of us work 9-5.

I'd be happy to just !!!!!! off on holiday - but catch 22 - I can't book a holiday because the contractors can't seem to commit a timeframe to do any of this. If they said 2 weeks from 11th July, give us the keys, and be gone, I could work with that. Unfortunately in 6 months all I've managed to get done is one day's wallpaper stripping and a hole ripped out of the ceiling!

BTW it's Halifax.

rs65

Carl_Rogers wrote: »

- or would you be happy finishing work at 5 and then going to bed at 6pm?

Personally, yes - if I got up at midnight. Some people come off nightshift and go straight to bed. Everyone is different. Would a compromise be allowing the contractors to start at something like 10?

Your claims handler is right in that some disruption is unavoidable. One of your posts said that the insurers have to find a solution. Much better if you can find a solution that suits you.

Most of the difficulties and delays you have described are down to you rather than the contractors. Would them starting at 10 and working till whenever (as you are out) be a solution? That way you just need to adjust your day by a couple of hours and not need time off. Rather than twiddling your thumbs in the morning, could you do your paperwork then?

rs65

Carl_Rogers wrote: »

Is there some bit of legislation that says I have the right to minimal disruption?

Sadly not .