Need advice on insurance for damage caused by neighbours fire

lisyloo

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

When we had a fire, my neighbour claimed.........

I dont think the OP will have any luck with the neighbours.
If they can't make sensible decisions regarding keeping themselves safe then they are unlikely to be articulate with their admin.
Indeed unless they have a family member looking after their finances, it's possible they don't have insurance unless it was on auto renew.


I've dealt with this condition and it's likely their admin fell by the wayside sometime before they set fire to the place.

littlerock

The Buildings loss adjuster came round just now. He said the incident was down as an escape of water claim not fire, and he was only given authority to write a report, not to sort out my problems or make delegated decisions. Next door did have insurance but I imagine it will be argued over, as the house was in very bad repair.

[Deleted User]

Keep in mind you have an obligation to minimize costs where you can. So if there are holes and you can afford to have then covered temporarily, you should do so and claim the cost back. Advise your insurance company that you are paying for this emergency work that is necessary and adding the cost to your claim.

littlerock

[DELETED USER] that is what I am doing. Got phone call from Crawford's (Zurichs loss adjusters) earlier saying report was sent to them by Zurich as report only on incident (as opposed to delegated authority to fix, was how they are usually given a claim). The Loss Adjuster who visited me said it was classified as escape of water. No one at Crawfords knows why it was report only. Blames Zurich. I think it must have got misclassified as less serious than it really is.

littlerock

Quick additional question. We live in a conservation area and houses are of Townscape Merit so have to be replaced as they were. On the other hand, the neighbours house which burnt down, was totally neglected, pigeons living in roof, back wall in danger of collapse due to no pointing, window frames propped up with bits of wood. Plus of course hoarding on an industrial which has contributed to fire reigniting. How far will this affect payout for repair, given it has to be replaced as was, and this will be a long and expensive process (it is currently a ruin.)?

Robin9

If your insurers (Zurich) can recover the costs from your neighbour's insurance they will - if they can't they will pick up the tab.

Forget about the condition of your neighbour's property - lean on your insurer's.

littlerock

According to the loss adjuster yesterday, he is normally given delegated authority to make decisions. This has not happened in our case where he has simply been told to prepare a report for Zurich. He works in a department for claims up£100k only and that includes £20k for temporary accommodation.

This means that he has no authority to approve temporary repairs like patching up a hole in the party wall at roof level now exposed to the elements. our party wall is exposed to the elements as next doors has gone and their house is now open to the sky . Both house urgently need a tin roof over them which requires their insurers to liaise with ours. He has not been asked to report on that.

After his visit I phoned Zurich who said if there was urgent temporary work needed I should get an estimate and send it to the loss adjuster who could then contact Zurich for approval. It is as if they are treating it as a small local fire. I think the only way to get anything sensible done is to appoint my own loss assessor.

Quentin

Appointing an assessor was suggested in post 2 above!

Getting your roof made waterproof is an urgent matter

In view of the procrastination of your insurer over this get a local roofer to put tarpaulin on now and argue the cost later!

Jumblebumble

littlerock wrote: »

According to the loss adjuster yesterday, he is normally given delegated authority to make decisions. This has not happened in our case where he has simply been told to prepare a report for Zurich. He works in a department for claims up£100k only and that includes £20k for temporary accommodation.

This means that he has no authority to approve temporary repairs like patching up a hole in the party wall at roof level now exposed to the elements. our party wall is exposed to the elements as next doors has gone and their house is now open to the sky . Both house urgently need a tin roof over them which requires their insurers to liaise with ours. He has not been asked to report on that.

After his visit I phoned Zurich who said if there was urgent temporary work needed I should get an estimate and send it to the loss adjuster who could then contact Zurich for approval. It is as if they are treating it as a small local fire. I think the only way to get anything sensible done is to appoint my own loss assessor.

Unfortunately I would prepare yourself for a long battle if you don't take charge
I had a claim managed by Crawfords who appointed a set of builders who had no idea of what they were doing
They turned up in a van that said they were painters and decorators
A crack needed stitching and they put across Helibars
Helibar prescribe 50cm either side of the crack. Idiot builders put 15 cm either side and got very defensive when challenged and it was obvious to anyone that these would rip out if any further movement occurred
I would become very noisy with Zurich If I were you

lisyloo

Have you made a formal complaint yet?