Claim building insurance for water leaking

jeroen.denny1977

Hi

Last week, a leaking boiler in the bathroom damaged the floor around it and below. It has affected my bedroom’s floor next to the bathroom, carpeted floor in front of the bathroom, bathroom’s floor and the ceiling which located just right below.

I did contacted few local builder come and checkout the damage. It might cost me £750 to do the very basic basic repair. Anyway, I also contacted building repair specialist who advice me to claim the insurance. He says he will do the proper repair for me which could cost the insurance company at least £2,500.

I have is the building insurance for mine leasehold property. I prefer to get the job done properly which will cost the insurance company at least £2,500. My excess charge is £500. Does it means I need to pay only £500 to the insurance company for this repair and what will be the drawback if I going to this road?

Thanks and hope to hear from anyone who has this experience

Last but not least, I might need to de-humidified the house too. May I know my building insurance cover all above? If yes what is the excess? Should I give them to repair and provide the receipt to you?

pramsay13

Give your insurance company a call to discuss.

Assuming the boiler sprung a leak rather than failed over time due to lack of maintenance it should be covered by insurance.

fixed flooring and ceiling will be covered by building insurance, carpet would be contents insurance, so you might have to claim on both.

House might need a dehumidifier, depends how wet it is and if it is drying quickly enough.

£500 excess means that is all you pay (although check that escape of water claims aren't different excess amount). Only drawback with claiming on insurance might be increased premium although you can shop around once the year is up so even with a claim it shouldn't have a dramatic effect on premiums.

dunroving

Call the insurance company and let them deal with it. That's what you have house insurance for!

(I had a major leak last June, and the restoration work is due to be completed tomorrow, all dealt with via the insurance company).

They should pay for (a) any emergency repair - stopping the leak; (b) contents insurance - any belongings that are damaged; (c) dehumidifiers; (d) all necessary repairs. THEY will bring in a building company to assess the necessary repairs.

Don't start any repairs yourself. Just do anything that is necessary in the short term (moving belongings away from the flooded area; putting down towels to prevent damp spreading, etc.)

I paid £300 excess on the buildings part of the claim and £300 excess on the contents part.

FreeBear

A leasehold flat - You must discuss with the leaseholder before doing anything. Also read the terms of your lease very carefully.
It may be that the freeholder is responsible for repairs to the floor and ceiling below. If not, he/she may need to be consulted before repairs are undertaken.

As for £750 repair or a £2500 one - At £750, I'd probably take the hit myself and say nothing to the insurance co. For a £2500 bill, you can expect higher premiums for quite a few years even if you switch to a different insurer.

dunroving

FreeBear wrote: »

A leasehold flat - You must discuss with the leaseholder before doing anything. Also read the terms of your lease very carefully.
It may be that the freeholder is responsible for repairs to the floor and ceiling below. If not, he/she may need to be consulted before repairs are undertaken.

As for £750 repair or a £2500 one - At £750, I'd probably take the hit myself and say nothing to the insurance co. For a £2500 bill, you can expect higher premiums for quite a few years even if you switch to a different insurer.

For what it's worth, I was told the increase in premiums is minimal for low-level claims (less than £10,000). I haven't renewed yet, so the proof will be in the pudding.

But it seems if we don't make a valid claim when needed, then insurance is pointless other than for catastrophic claims.

jeroen.denny1977

I managed to contacted few local builder and most of them are only do a particular job which I think I will have a lots of admin job to claim through the insurance. Then I manage to find a building restoration company who can take all the jobs and he also can claim the insurance for me.

Anyone have any experience with this kind of company before? Are they any good and any drawback if I work with kind of company

dunroving

Why have you ignored the advice to let your insurance company deal with the repairs? They will have a loss adjuster who will in turn work with a building company.

The building company will submit a schedule of works (a list of what work will be done).

You can then let that company do the work, paid for by the insurance company, or take a cash settlement and arrange for the repairs yourself.

Please don't ignore the advice you are given. By all means disagree, but explain why.

jeroen.denny1977

dunroving wrote: »

Why have you ignored the advice to let your insurance company deal with the repairs? They will have a loss adjuster who will in turn work with a building company.

The building company will submit a schedule of works (a list of what work will be done).

You can then let that company do the work, paid for by the insurance company, or take a cash settlement and arrange for the repairs yourself.

Please don't ignore the advice you are given. By all means disagree, but explain why.

Sorry, I just being caution because this sound too good to be truth and the building restoration company are super nice. I just worry, if the insurance company refuse to pay, they will force me to pay. Or I just over caution

victor2

As others have said, let your insurance company deal with it. IME they appoint somebody to put the rooms back to the condition they were in before the damage. In my case (many years ago), a leak from upstairs caused the ceiling paper to come away in the living room. It needed stripping and repapering. I'd been wanting to get rid of that paper for years, so they agreed to strip it all and paint over the ceiling, covering the stained area with lining paper first. Because water had stained one wall a bit, they repainted the walls as well, as they said they couldn't guarantee a colour match. I still had some of the paint used in the garage, but they insisted on a new paint job so I wasn't going to argue.
Don't know what the job cost, but very happy with the result!
Insurance didn't go up by too much the following year either.

FreeBear

jeroen.denny1977 wrote: »

Sorry, I just being caution because this sound too good to be truth and the building restoration company are super nice. I just worry, if the insurance company refuse to pay, they will force me to pay.

The insurance co. will have their own list of preferred contractors. If you go appointing your own in the hope that the insurer will pick up the bill, you could be in for an expensive shock - Just because the building restoration company are nice now, they will turn ugly if they don't get paid.

First port of call is always the insurance company - Let them deal with everything from loss adjusters to builders & other trades.

jeroen.denny1977

FreeBear wrote: »

The insurance co. will have their own list of preferred contractors. If you go appointing your own in the hope that the insurer will pick up the bill, you could be in for an expensive shock - Just because the building restoration company are nice now, they will turn ugly if they don't get paid.

First port of call is always the insurance company - Let them deal with everything from loss adjusters to builders & other trades.

Thanks for the update. That is what make me feel worry. I did contact the insurance company what they asked me to do is just find the builder and give them 2 quotations. I only managed to find one who happy to do not only everything for me. But, they also happy to paint my kitchen ceiling even very minor damage which I don't even ask them to do.

Anyone heard about Building Repair Specialists Ltd before? That is the company I mention They say they can oversee the claim and carry out the necessary work so you don't have to. They also mentions they are an established company with many years of experience dealing with various types of property damage claims