Alternative accommodation

Alan_p_3

Following a fridge fire in our kitchen which caused smoke damage throughout the house, our insurance company loss adjuster told us to find alternative accommodation as the repairs are going to take around 9 months to complete. Our house is a detached 5 bed barn conversion with a double garage and parking for 8 cars. There are only 2 of us living there at the moment but we do have 7 grandchildren who visit regularly and stay overnight also my son and his partner come to stay most months for a few days. The loss adjuster has given us a budget of £1200 for monthly rent, which in our area will just about be enough for a 3 bed semi.
The loss adjuster is adamant that we are only due what she is offering as we are only entitled to what we need. I have read on many websites that were are entitled to a like for like house, including the financial ombudsman website.
We have both contents and buildings insurance with the same company. Contents £75,000, buildings £1,000,000. The contents also covers an additional £10,000 for alternative accommodation, there is also £100,000 separate cover for alternative accommodation as part of the buildings cover
Does anyone know the truth about what we are due?
Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

If your policy states that only £10000 is available for alternative accomodation then I would take the £1200 monthly rent.
It could look like you were underinsured if you wanted a mansion as an alternative to a 3 bed semi?
Contents insurance will cover what you have lost as a result of the fire - nothing to do with what you are seeking here.

Alan_p_3

Thanks for the reply but I think you’e miss read, we have cover of £10,000 on the contents for alternative accommodation and £100,000 for the same as an addition to the £1,000,000 of buildings cover...£110,000 in total just for alternative accommodation. We are very well covered

Owain_Moneysaver

I think you have a duty to the insurance company to take reasonable action to minimize the amount of the loss suffered. Paying for £110k of alternative accommodation cover does not mean that you can claim that full amount. You may, in that respect, be over- rather than under-insured.

A 3 bed will potentially allow 4 grandchildren at a time (2 in each spare bedroom, sex segregated), or the insurer may agree to occasional hotel bills if you need more guest accommodation than 2 spare rooms.

However, I also think that the fact that the loss assessor is being so restrictive against your insured amounts and the type of house may actually work in your favour as it strengthens your argument that it's unreasonable. If they'd offered a 4-bed then maybe you wouldn't.

Can you link to the FO website which says you are entitled to like-for-like accommodation?

Alan_p_3

Hi, as i'm a new user I cant post links but if you search alternative accommodation financial ombudsman its one of the first results
The word used is actually "similar" other websites such as compare the market, go compare and money supermarket all use "like for like" as the explanation of alternative accommodation
It may seem petty as they are offering a replacement house and maybe we should be grateful,but I just want what I'm due.

Alan_p_3

The £110,000 cover wasn't requested it was given, I just answered truthfully about the value of the house for the quote (one of the comparison sites) which is £650,000 but the buildings cover given as a result is £1,000,000 which also seems excessive when you consider £250,000 of the value is in the plot.

Quentin

The cover limits may well be blanket figures (ie everyone gets that cover rather than you having to work out your actual rebuild/contents cost - all fine as long as you are covered by the maximum sums insured)


But if you requested less cover and you are being charged for more than you requested, and should have been paying a cheaper premium then you have gounds for complaint

unforeseen

I would think its no different to car insurance. You may have a top of the range 7 seater but all you get with a claim as a courtesy car is the lowest category

Alan_p_3

I probably wouldn't be thinking anything was wrong but the loss adjuster has been so inconsistent. Firstly for the rent she told us we could spend £1250 then £1300 and now £1200 during three separate telephone conversations. The estimate of time we would be out of the house was firstly 8 months, two days later it was 6 mths. The surveyor lsays 9 months and now the loss adjuster is saying 16 weeks. We were told today that no actual work will start for 4 months.

Quentin

Whenever you are unhappy with your insurance company the route to take is a complaint in line with their complaints procedure which will be set out in the policy docs


Then if you don't like the reply or they ignore you for 8 weeks you can escalate to the FOS for their adjudication all at no cost to you

Alan_p_3

But if that is the case why would all the information I can find, including that from the financial ombudsman indicate it should be "similar" or "like for like" accommodation.
The real problem is that there is no small print, just a booklet that just givee the level of cover.
I've spoken to the broker and they have no idea what they've actually sold me and just tell me to contact the insurance company who refer me to the loss adjuster' who is apparently my only point of contact