Reasonable Daily Allowance

Matty007

My elderly mother 86 yrs had a flood in her kitchen which affected different parts of her house, the insurers LV have dealt with claims on carpets and kitchen floors etc. and although this took months to conclude they finally got it done, but I have noted that they have kind of flipped on how they might compensate my mum for not being able to use the kitchen or its appliances for the duration of the claim.

They've accepted they weren't very quick in getting the repairs completed and have accepted and apologised for this and today have offered £10.00 a day for every inconvenience, including food (no cooker), laundry (no washing machine) and the inconvenience of having to relocate her fridge in her garage etc. and did ask whether she wanted to find alternative accomodation (she didn't).

What daily allowance is usually deemed reasonable in these kind of circumstances, her kitchen was inoperable for 150+ days.

Thank you

DullGreyGuy

Disturbance allowance is normally £10 per day per adult and £5 per child unless the policybook state otherwise.

If she can evidence actual increased costs those can be claimed on top of the disturbance allowance but its the delta not the full cost... eg if you normally spend £100 on cooking food at home but have had to spend £175 on takeaways instead then you can claim the £75 uplift not the full £175.

See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/settling-home-insurance-claims and expand the Alternative Accommodation section

Matty007

DullGreyGuy said:

Disturbance allowance is normally £10 per day per adult and £5 per child unless the policybook state otherwise.

If she can evidence actual increased costs those can be claimed on top of the disturbance allowance but its the delta not the full cost... eg if you normally spend £100 on cooking food at home but have had to spend £175 on takeaways instead then you can claim the £75 uplift not the full £175.

See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/settling-home-insurance-claims and expand the Alternative Accommodation section

May I ask how might you calculate compensation for inconvenience, as they did originally say that they would compensate £10.00 a day for food and will add on extra payments for her not being able to use her kitchen.

Thank you

JGreenwood

I can't say I'm an expert in this, but I do think £10 sounds incredibly low

DullGreyGuy

Matty007 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Disturbance allowance is normally £10 per day per adult and £5 per child unless the policybook state otherwise.

If she can evidence actual increased costs those can be claimed on top of the disturbance allowance but its the delta not the full cost... eg if you normally spend £100 on cooking food at home but have had to spend £175 on takeaways instead then you can claim the £75 uplift not the full £175.

See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/settling-home-insurance-claims and expand the Alternative Accommodation section

May I ask how might you calculate compensation for inconvenience, as they did originally say that they would compensate £10.00 a day for food and will add on extra payments for her not being able to use her kitchen.

Thank you

Disturbance allowance is the inconvenience for living in a property that doesnt have a working kitchen, bathroom etc

There may be the possibility of claiming additional compensation for their failure to offer Alternative Accomodation (assuming the policy covers this - most do) 

As said, if you can substantiate any actual additional costs then that would go on top of both of those. 

DullGreyGuy

JGreenwood said:

I can't say I'm an expert in this, but I do think £10 sounds incredibly low

Its what the Ombudsman says is fair... remember that this is supposed to be a payment paid to someone who has chosen to stay rather than this scenario where the insurer didnt discuss AA.

It also depends on how many people are in your home... £10 for a lone adult isnt great but a family of 5 with older kids it could be £280 a week tax free

Weighty1

DullGreyGuy said:

Matty007 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Disturbance allowance is normally £10 per day per adult and £5 per child unless the policybook state otherwise.

If she can evidence actual increased costs those can be claimed on top of the disturbance allowance but its the delta not the full cost... eg if you normally spend £100 on cooking food at home but have had to spend £175 on takeaways instead then you can claim the £75 uplift not the full £175.

See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/settling-home-insurance-claims and expand the Alternative Accommodation section

May I ask how might you calculate compensation for inconvenience, as they did originally say that they would compensate £10.00 a day for food and will add on extra payments for her not being able to use her kitchen.

Thank you

Disturbance allowance is the inconvenience for living in a property that doesnt have a working kitchen, bathroom etc

There may be the possibility of claiming additional compensation for their failure to offer Alternative Accomodation (assuming the policy covers this - most do) 

As said, if you can substantiate any actual additional costs then that would go on top of both of those. 

The OP says they offered their mother alternative accommodation but they didn't want it.  Seems like they done right by her then.  You can hardly moan about not having a working kitchen when they offered you accommodation WITH a working kitchen.

DullGreyGuy

Weighty1 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Matty007 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Disturbance allowance is normally £10 per day per adult and £5 per child unless the policybook state otherwise.

If she can evidence actual increased costs those can be claimed on top of the disturbance allowance but its the delta not the full cost... eg if you normally spend £100 on cooking food at home but have had to spend £175 on takeaways instead then you can claim the £75 uplift not the full £175.

See https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/home-buildings-insurance/settling-home-insurance-claims and expand the Alternative Accommodation section

May I ask how might you calculate compensation for inconvenience, as they did originally say that they would compensate £10.00 a day for food and will add on extra payments for her not being able to use her kitchen.

Thank you

Disturbance allowance is the inconvenience for living in a property that doesnt have a working kitchen, bathroom etc

There may be the possibility of claiming additional compensation for their failure to offer Alternative Accomodation (assuming the policy covers this - most do) 

As said, if you can substantiate any actual additional costs then that would go on top of both of those. 

The OP says they offered their mother alternative accommodation but they didn't want it.  Seems like they done right by her then.  You can hardly moan about not having a working kitchen when they offered you accommodation WITH a working kitchen.

Downside of scan reading... I thought they said they didnt... even if they did offer AA they are still entitled to a disturbance allowance and any increased costs. No compensation for not offering AA if they did obviously. 

Matty007

DullGreyGuy said:

JGreenwood said:

I can't say I'm an expert in this, but I do think £10 sounds incredibly low

Its what the Ombudsman says is fair... remember that this is supposed to be a payment paid to someone who has chosen to stay rather than this scenario where the insurer didnt discuss AA.

It also depends on how many people are in your home... £10 for a lone adult isnt great but a family of 5 with older kids it could be £280 a week tax free

They did ask whether she'd prefer to go in alternative accommodation but she's vulnerable and they agreed it proably wouldn't be appropriate.