AA Insurance refusing to deal with loss assesor

fireclaim40

Dear all,
My house has been hit by a lighting a month ago. There has been extensive fire and water damage.
I have been insured with AA but decided to use loss assessors to help with the complexities of the claim. Since I have appointed a claim assistance company AA has refused to communicate with them. Now they are making threats that if we continue to use loss assessor they won't reinstate the property but only offer cash settlement. This wouldn't be so bad but they are stipulating that they will not engage in any cost negotiations but only pay out what they think is appropriate according to their loss adjustor and his surveyors/contractors.
Is this legal? 
How do I proceed? 
Am I being striped of my legal rights?
Please advice
D. 

DullGreyGuy

Not sure you have a statutory right to have a loss assessor for it to be able to be stripped from you.

What does your assessor say? They'll have dealt with a lot of insurers over their time. I'm probably more surprised that your assessor wasnt wanting to appoint their own suppliers anywhere and so would have wanted a cash settlement. 

fireclaim40

This is a fresh claim. Loss assessor is as surprised as we are and never was in similar situation before. His comments are that this is discrimination. I want to know if I have a right to representation. Also we are not even at the stage of appointing contractors. The assessor is ready with quotations and contractors but not having cooperation from AA. The property is not even made safe yet. 

DullGreyGuy

Discrimination is an emotive word and probably not one worth using.

Is it the AA you are dealing with or the insurer? Looking at their policy wording it talks of calling the insurer to report the claim etc?

You do need to ensure that you have provided the appropriate permission to the AA/your insurer that the assessor is your agent and that you've authorised them to deal with the AA/Insurer and that the insurer/AA is authorised to deal with them for the purposes of this claim. Once they've acknowledge the email then ask your assessor to contact the AA/insurer, if they refuse to communicate with your duly authorised representative then log a complaint.

fireclaim40

We have signed formal instructions with loss assessors to represent us. We have made AA- the insurer - aware. They are ignoring his emails or phone calls and recently made explicit instructions to lost adjuster to not discus the claim with assessor. I have wrote an email asking them to clarify their intensions-waiting for response. Then I will log complaint. Thank you. 
Any other suggestions welcome

user1977

The fact the insured is using an agent (of any sort) doesn't change their rights under the insurance contract. I would pursue a complaint.