Need advice on insurance for damage caused by neighbours fire

Chickenlips

If I am honest, insurers do not give delegated authority limits for bits of work. Has liability been accepted?

The escape of water issue is a small one, and ultimately doesn't change much in terms of your claim.

Finding your own accommodation is also common. Especially if liability hasn't been agreed. Adjusters being appointed is standard practice on claims like this. It looks like it has only been a week, I don't think there have been any delays. Claims like this take time to get moving. You may want to review the F.O.S rulings for similar complaints to understand what they consider to be unreasonable. They don't often consider taking a week or two to consider things unreasonable.

The adjusters arent washing their hands of it. They cannot agree works until your insurer agrees liability. Your insurer has the right to review the claim and risk before agreeing to accept it. In the absence of any significant issues taking two weeks to do this isn't unreasonable. If it was six weeks down the line then I would agree with you on this part.

If your assessor specialises in what you think makes your home unique then yes. If they do not then there is no advantage. Given how many Victorian properties there are in the UK it shouldn't be hard to locate a contractor for the works. What kind of plaster do you have?

Has next door got a tin hat? If not one on yours won't make a difference because the elements will still be able to affect the party wall until they get one.

If you have signed a mandate your insurers and adjusters may refuse to talk to you directly as the mandate will stipulate that contact has to go through the assessor. Something to keep in mind.

littlerock

My insurance is paid up to date, ( the July direct debit went through as normal). There has been no suggestion by insurers that I am not insured. A loss adjuster phoned me back on the day I reported claim and started advising me on accommodation etc then team leader at adjusters phoned me to say he had had a "difference of opinion" with her over the approach to my claim and nothing could happen until a loss adjustor had visited site and made a report.

The loss adjuster visited two days later and commented himself that he would normally have been given authority to authorise initial remedial work against budgets for a fire claim and he was surprised it was recorded as Escape of Water an he had only been asked to write a report . (Fire engines were back next door as fire had restarted. ).

I phoned Insurers home claim team Friday morning and the person I spoke there was surprised it had not been recorded as a Fire Claim, as he said would normally happen but as Escape of Water which meant it had not been escalated to status of Fire claim when budgets would be set and delegated authority given to nominated loss adjuster. He said he would sort that out at once and call me back. He did not call me back.

At that stage I had not spoken to loss assessors. It seems rather alarming that the "victim" of a major fire can be left entirely unsupported for up to two weeks after with no advice support or practical help even when unable unable to sleep in their own home. Is this really normal procedure?

My house is a Building of Townscape Merit, one of a row of such buildings in a Conservation Area ,(article 4 designation) .The street is mentioned in Pevsner. It has some very fine fibrous plasterwork, (lathe and plaster) moulded roses etc, embossed wall coverings, original pine floors etc , Welsh slate roof and much of interior is original and unmodernised. It is why I bought it originally. It is a step above the average Victorian semi.

lisyloo

I don’t think its good service.
Did you do any research about the insurer when you took the policy or at each of the 24 renewals?

Not having a go but it’s useful for other people to know.
I spend a couple of hours at each renewal.

[Deleted User]

You should call them and ask to file a complaint over it being wrongly designated escape of water. That seems to have caused many of the issues you have.

littlerock

I should have researched it more. I originally inherited from the building society and as it was unlimited cover and a low excess, I just thought it would be OK.

As far as complaint about designation as Escape of Water, I complained to Insurers on Friday morning and they agreed to change it to Fire related, open up budgets, delegate authority to loss adjusters. They promised to phone back and did not. It is not clear if they have done this yet. My loss assessor is now chasing it for me.

It was total lack of any support and advice from insurers that has led me to use loss assessor.

Jlo31

I thought Zurich was one of the large main insurers to and I would have happily insured with them. You never know how good they are until you have to claim. Hopefully now you have an insurance assessor things will progress.

littlerock

An update. My loss assessor has arranged for independent survey on Thursday. TBH I don't know if my insurer has accepted liability yet or not. I cannot think of any reason why not. I am paid up to date, long term policy holder, fully insured, have nothing concealed. No bad debts etc.

I did find a very helpful checklist on line about what should happen after a major fire. This includes claimants duty to mitigate damage by securing your property, and getting electrics checked by qualified electrician and finding your own temporary accommodation. My insurers did not tell me any of this, when contacted they said they had appointed their loss adjuster from Crawfords to visit and he would tell me what my options were.

When the Loss adjustor turned up, he said he would normally have delegated authority and access to budgets where the claim was major fire damage, but not in my case because his brief was to just report on an Escape of Water at my premises. I phoned insurers to complain about this next day and my Insurers confirmed the brief given to their Loss Adjustors was report only and marked as NDA (No Delegated Authority). They said they would correct it to Major Fire damage status with delegated authority for the loss adjustors. They said they would confirm this. They have not yet done so.

I gave up dealing with them and appointed a loss assessor to act on my behalf.They emailed the loss adjustor yesterday, on my behalf, copied to me. I have yet to see any response. I hope he is writing a report which will move things along. He has been uncontactable this week.

It does seem dismal that my insurers are unwilling or unable to offer any advice whatsoever to a customer who is the innocent victim of a neighbours major fire. Ditto their loss adjuster. How is the claimant supposed to know what to do after a traumatic event like this, if neither their insurers not their loss adjusters are prepared to explain it to them?

littlerock

Another update. Coming up to 2 weeks since the fire on Monday. My insurers have not yet accepted liability on grounds they are waiting for the report they commissioned from their loss Adjustors..Their loss adjustor visited 8 days ago. Fire was 11 days ago.

Loss adjustor phoned me last night as a courtesy to say he is submitting his report to insurers this morning and to tell me because my damage is smoke and water related from next door, it is not being treated by my insurers as a major fire loss but a General Property Claim.

(Next door was a major fire. Owners were hoarders and it took six pumps and 40 firemen around 5 hours to put their fire out. It even reignited two days later and they had to come back.. Next door ( halls adjoining victorian semi) was destroyed.

It seems that the LOSS ADJUSTERS report is submitted only to the insurers, and I do not get to see it. It is not clear at present if I even get to see a summary of the works proposed. The loss adjuster said once his report has been reviewed by the insurers, and claim liability accepted, (it still has not yet) then they would go ahead with drying out my house . As a result I do not, at this stage, in his view, need alternative accommodation.

To date, coming up to two weeks after the fire, my insurers have still to accept liability, I have no right to see their loss adjusters report, have nothing in writing saying what they propose to fix and how they propose to fix it and they are recommending no alternative accommodation is needed. Meanwhile we are living in a damp smelly house and mould has started to form in the cellar. We are both past retirement age

My policy provides unlimited insurance cover for my buildings and £20k of alternative accommodation. The fire was started by my neighbour. It is not at clear why I am being mucked about like this. fYI the loss adjusters here are Crawford & co.

My loss assessor arranged a separate independent post fire survey on my behalf. Waiting for that to come through now.

rs65

littlerock wrote: »

My loss assessor arranged a separate independent post fire survey on my behalf. Waiting for that to come through now.

Be very aware of the costs involved here. Is the loss assessor doing anything to help you?

littlerock

I am aware of the costs and my loss assessor has been providing useful advice. But
I really have little choice than to get my own survey by a reputable firm My insurers asked their adjusters to produce a report on the cause of the damage to my house. The insurers need this, they say, before they can accept liability. They have still not accepted liability, nearly two weeks after the major fire next door.

Their loss adjuster have been stalling producing this report, which I am told now exists, but still no liability has been accepted by the insurers. I am not allowed to see the report as it was commissioned by the insurers not me .

The loss adjusters have also said I do not need alternative accommodation at this stage, despite my house bring damp and smokey and mould starting to grow in the cellar. When the claim is accepted the loss adjusters say they will bring in drying equipment. But still I wait. In the meantime they consider the house habitable and will not approve the use of the £20k alternative accommodation Al!lowance which is included in my policy.

I have no idea why they are doing this. I thought in a no fault claim I should be put back in the place I was before this happened. I have no connection with next door, who were 90 something hoarders. I am the innocent victim in all this. I have unlimited buildings insurance, nothing in my financial record to cause concern. Fully up to date, my house was in good condition. No one has said no but the insurers and their loss adjusters seem to be stalling me at every turn. I am starting to speculate they have a monthly pay out ceiling and I am knocking up against it and being put off or delayed until August.

I have an ongoing health problem and should have gone into hospital the day after all this for an operation. Instead I had to delay it to sort this out. I need someone to fight my corner, it is clear I am getting zero help from my insurers and their loss Adjustors.