Independent Inspections - any Insurance company NOT use them?

GrumbleBee

We've recently had nothing but problems making a claim for our carpet. Our insurance company sent out Independent Inspections to have a look at the burn in our carpet and measure up, but because the person turned up an half an hour before the agreed 4 hour window both me and my wife were not at home at the time to look at the samples. When my wife called them to arrange a time for them to come back and look at samples she asked what they were allowing us and the figure given was insultingly low.

Long story short, we have not even SEEN what they are quoting for as once my wife queried the figures they said we could not see them as we were complaining about them. Our insurers have not been helpful and once this does reach some kind of conclusion we would like to change insurers to somebody that doesn't deal with the cowboys at Independent Inspections. Does such a company exist, or is my feeling that the insurance industry is really nothing but a great big swindling incestuous bunch of con-artists the truth?

eddddy

You mention somebody coming with samples, so it sounds like you're saying the insurance company is arranging the supply and fitting of the new carpet.

You should probably be focusing on whether the carpet is 'like for like' - rather than the price.

e.g. if you currently have a 40oz 80/20 wool mix carpet, you should make sure that you're getting the same again.

The insurers may have negotiated a big discount with the carpet suppliers - so the cost might seem very low compared to what you originally paid for the carpet.

(Also, I expect that they will not replace the underlay, grippers etc, which makes the cost even cheaper.)

paddyandstumpy

The above +1.

Also, there may be insurers who don't currently use them, but these sort of contracts are reviewed/changed all the time so you may take out a new one and a day later the insurer will start using them.

GrumbleBee

eddddy wrote: »

You mention somebody coming with samples, so it sounds like you're saying the insurance company is arranging the supply and fitting of the new carpet.

You should probably be focusing on whether the carpet is 'like for like' - rather than the price.

e.g. if you currently have a 40oz 80/20 wool mix carpet, you should make sure that you're getting the same again.

The insurers may have negotiated a big discount with the carpet suppliers - so the cost might seem very low compared to what you originally paid for the carpet.

(Also, I expect that they will not replace the underlay, grippers etc, which makes the cost even cheaper.)

That's what a lot of our complaint is - we have not actually been shown what they are proposing to replace it with, what is included, what is not included, etc. Meanwhile we've had 2 independent quotes and know exactly what their costs include and what quality of carpet we would be getting to replace what we have down.

Independent Inspections said we were not allowed to see that info from them as we had questioned their original figure and complained to our insurance company about them. Now the insurance company is saying they will only allow us a cash settlement of what Independent Inspections have quoted, though we have never actually SEEN the quote!

Blibble

GrumbleBee wrote: »

Meanwhile we've had 2 independent quotes and know exactly what their costs include and what quality of carpet we would be getting to replace what we have down.

There are massive discounts at play with II's suppliers; carpet tends to be one of the commodities with the larger discounts. If you were to, hypothetically, take a cash settlement at the price they would pay it would be half of the cost you've got from an independent quote.

GrumbleBee wrote: »

Independent Inspections said we were not allowed to see that info from them as we had questioned their original figure and complained to our insurance company about them. Now the insurance company is saying they will only allow us a cash settlement of what Independent Inspections have quoted, though we have never actually SEEN the quote!

Ask the insurer why they have taken away the option of having them supply & fit the flooring citing that taking cash and sorting it yourself is inconvenient. As noted above, you need eyes on the sample to see how comparable it is before rejecting their offer.

Chickenlips

You should be able to request an unpriced schedule of works.

I work in Insurance and have worked with Independent Inspections. Whilst i am not privvy to the agreement they have with your Insurers, I have not had a claim with them where they haven't included gripper rods or underlay... More work = more money.

If the underlay and rods require replacement they should be replaced, or you will not have been fully indemnified for your loss.

At the very least, you should have been able to request the unpriced schedule of works to ensure that all of the agreed works were being carried out.

If your Insurers are offering you a settlement based on what they could have replaced the carpet for, you may want to politely point out that they are unable to replace the carpet at that cost as Independent Inspections have refused the work.