Insurance for bathroom damage

donglefan

If a bath is damaged which is accepted by insurers, is the insurer obliged to

1. offer to send their own tradesperson to do the replacement?
2. if tiles are damaged in the process and cannot be matched, to re-tile the entire bathroom with new matching tiles?

Asking because I have very expensive insurance under an obligation to use the one supplied by the notorious freeholder of the flat.

I've been advised to obtain my own quotes for replacement of the bath, and to use own tradesperson to do the repair, and if tiles are broken in the process, only those tiles will be paid for, regardless of the fact you cannot get those tiles any more, so the repair would be mis-matching.

Carrot007

No in either case unless the level of insurance you took out agreed to it in the contract.


This is why people often go for insurance more expensive than the cheapest.


Unless the tiles are something really weird there should be something similar enough.

donglefan

thank you Carrot, most helpful

Chickenlips

Regarding your questions:

1) It depends on the terms of your policy, but they are not obliged to use their own contractors. I would recommend using your own, as the ones employed by your insurer are likely to be more expensive. This means a larger claim to declare at renewal, and if you decide to have all tiles replaced... you'll be paying more for your costs. Perhaps asking for a cash settlement offer may benefit you.

2) This depends on the terms of your policy. If the cover does not cover matching items... the answer is likely no. Take into account that the policy for the freehold (buildings) will be a commercial policy, meaning the terms can be more strict.