Home insurance cash settlement seems unfair

brightonelizabeth

Hi,

My parents had a pipe leak in the kitchen which ruined the floor. It’s an engineered wood floor (daft but was they were unaware at the time how unsuitable it was). To replace it like for like with the same brand would cost £4,850 for the materials alone but with a laminate floor it would be around £3,300 which they are happy to do.

They have been offered £1,700 and told they cannot negotiate the cash settlement. The insurance company have offered to send one of their contractors out but I have no idea what materials they would use. 

Where should they go from here?

Thanks!

youth_leader

Have your parents received the schedule of works from the loss adjuster that visited? 

When I was offered a cash settlement for the complete loss of my flat roof, I was being pressurised to accept their very low cash quote.  They didn't have any staff to send out to replace my roof - I had to wait weeks for them to send someone just to 'make it safe', and unfortunately it didn't work, I had a very wet Christmas last year with a collapsed ceiling too.  

I had to ask for the schedule of works. 

When it eventually came it showed they were pricing for roofing felt and 'hot' bitumen rather than replace the roof like for like with the original fibreglass resin.

Have your parents got quotes from two separate companies for the replacement in engineered wood/laminate?

Who told them they couldn't negotiate the cash settlement?

I found putting in a complaint speeded up my claim.  I could only get one quote and was told they would accept it reluctantly as they realised all roofers were out fixing storm damage.

Have a look at the 1* ratings for their insurers on TrustPilot, says volumes normally as from people who have had difficulty claiming.

SaverRate

brightonelizabeth said:

Hi,

My parents had a pipe leak in the kitchen which ruined the floor. It’s an engineered wood floor (daft but was they were unaware at the time how unsuitable it was). To replace it like for like with the same brand would cost £4,850 for the materials alone but with a laminate floor it would be around £3,300 which they are happy to do.

They have been offered £1,700 and told they cannot negotiate the cash settlement. The insurance company have offered to send one of their contractors out but I have no idea what materials they would use. 

Where should they go from here?

Thanks!

whos the insurer

youth_leader

I wouldn't recommend naming them whilst the claim is ongoing.

brightonelizabeth

youth_leader said:

Have your parents received the schedule of works from the loss adjuster that visited? 

When I was offered a cash settlement for the complete loss of my flat roof, I was being pressurised to accept their very low cash quote.  They didn't have any staff to send out to replace my roof - I had to wait weeks for them to send someone just to 'make it safe', and unfortunately it didn't work, I had a very wet Christmas last year with a collapsed ceiling too.  

I had to ask for the schedule of works. 

When it eventually came it showed they were pricing for roofing felt and 'hot' bitumen rather than replace the roof like for like with the original fibreglass resin.

Have your parents got quotes from two separate companies for the replacement in engineered wood/laminate?

Who told them they couldn't negotiate the cash settlement?

I found putting in a complaint speeded up my claim.  I could only get one quote and was told they would accept it reluctantly as they realised all roofers were out fixing storm damage.

Have a look at the 1* ratings for their insurers on TrustPilot, says volumes normally as from people who have had difficulty claiming.

Thank you for your reply. Your advice is very helpful and appreciated. I am sorry to hear about your roof. That must have been miserable! I’m glad you got your roof properly fixed in the end.

Apologies, I did not mean to post and dash but things got in the way.

They did send round a surveyor but we have not received a schedule of works. We have sent two quotes to the insurance company.

This is what they said (it’s an online portal):

“We would not be able to negotiate the settlement as this cash value is based on how much is would cost our contractors to complete the works and therefore would be our limit of liability for your claim. If you are unhappy with the cash offer, we can instruct a contractor instead to complete the repairs for you. Thank you.”

I sent back a message explaining that a replacement like for like would mean close to £4K for materials alone but if they want to instruct a contractor to please go ahead. Awaiting a response.

They actually have good reviews on TrustPilot but I rarely trust reviews on that site. 

youth_leader

You must receive the schedule of works, it is your right to see it and should have been sent with the cash settlement offer.  Otherwise it is impossible for you to know what work is going to be done.  I recently had to have all my floors replaced (not insurance) due to condensation/mould and it hadn't occurred to me I'd be on my knees varnishing them all when the men left

It was only through receiving my schedule I realised they were trying to fob me off with an inferior quality roof. 

When it arrives, you can then compare 'the works'  to the work in the quotes you have received, and fight for the cash to pay and engage  one of them.

If they continue to mess you around, go direct to the CEO.  When I was tearing my hair out I went on here to the Insurance forum and received the genius tip of emailing the CEO, hopefully you'll find the name/email address here - 

www.!!!!!!

You might like to post on there too for advice, I only have my personal experience.  Once your parents insurance lapses, Which have a list of approved insurers, they surveyed people who had successfully claimed to get the scores.

Just found it, you'll see a lot of similar posts here, Doc_N definitely saved me months of angst.

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