Insurance claims for heating oil spills.

Pilchardsmoney

Does anybody have any experiences and/or advice to share when dealing with Insurance Company Loss Adjusters over domestic oil spills?
The oil boiler we inherited 10 years ago when we bought our home is serviced every year under contract by Worcester Bosch, but the last service engineer inadvertently left a severe leak of oil which took two days for WB to send anyone to repair it. The problem is that the boiler lives in a cupboard in our ground-floor second bedroom and the leak has caused extensive damage and pollution. Now WB understand the severity of the damage caused, they have appointed an Environmental Company that specialises in domestic heating oil spillages. Following tests and investigations, the environmental company representative has advised that the room will be cleared of contents into storage, boiler removed, built in cupboards and wardrobes and carpet skipped, several square meters of screeded concrete floor removed and... the dividing block wall between that bedroom and the adjoining bathroom will be removed along with bathroom tiles radiator and toilet. They will provide us with "like-for-like" accommodation... 2 bedroom, garden, and off-road parking for our car and motorhome for the duration of the work, although... as we are retired, we could just go on a long motorhome holiday somewhere warm... if they will talk turkey.
Removal and refitting the boiler will cost them £3,000, which then begins to make sense to instal a brand-new "external"boiler instead.
The destruction to our bathroom will be extensive enough, and identical tiles and toilet no longer available, which means it makes sense to renew the bathroom entirely.
I've not yet been approached by the appointed Loss Adjuster, but am curious as to what level of restitution & compensation we can expect and how best to approach them in order to salvage some practical and common-sense results from this disaster.

Van_Girl

If the tiles can't be matched, they will likely re-tile the whole bathroom. The suite would usually be salvaged, cleaned and re-instated - but you've said the toilet will need replacing. If it's part of a matching suite (and you have a matching items clause in the policy) they will likely allow to replace it all. 

It's quite specific to your policy, so the best person to discuss with will be the Loss Adjuster.

You'll be given the option to choose flooring, tiles, bathroom items, wardrobes, paint etc within an estimated budget, so you don't have to put back exactly what was there before. This often leads to nice upgrades, where areas were previously dated. 

Depending on who manages the reinstatement, there's usually some negotiation to be had. For example, I've been happy in the past for Clients to save money by not having wallpaper put back everywhere, and they have instead used that "pot" of money towards a nicer kitchen. I've also had Clients who have negotiated a side deal with the contractor, and they've had an extension rolled into the works for a bargain price 

Loss Adjuster's are generally pretty decent people and do understand the stress and upheaval you're going through. Building a good rapport with them, and the surveyor/contract administrator if they appoint one, will help you get the best out of this situation.

Just editing to say I'm a surveyor, not a Loss Adjuster

Pilchardsmoney

Van_Girl said:

If the tiles can't be matched, they will likely re-tile the whole bathroom. The suite would usually be salvaged, cleaned and re-instated - but you've said the toilet will need replacing. If it's part of a matching suite (and you have a matching items clause in the policy) they will likely allow to replace it all. 

It's quite specific to your policy, so the best person to discuss with will be the Loss Adjuster.

You'll be given the option to choose flooring, tiles, bathroom items, wardrobes, paint etc within an estimated budget, so you don't have to put back exactly what was there before. This often leads to nice upgrades, where areas were previously dated. 

Depending on who manages the reinstatement, there's usually some negotiation to be had. For example, I've been happy in the past for Clients to save money by not having wallpaper put back everywhere, and they have instead used that "pot" of money towards a nicer kitchen. I've also had Clients who have negotiated a side deal with the contractor, and they've had an extension rolled into the works for a bargain price 

Loss Adjuster's are generally pretty decent people and do understand the stress and upheaval you're going through. Building a good rapport with them, and the surveyor/contract administrator if they appoint one, will help you get the best out of this situation.

Just editing to say I'm a surveyor, not a Loss Adjuster

Thank you very much Van Girl. I've struck lucky! I Couldn't possibly have expected such a full answer, and from someone closely associated with these problems on a professional basis. You've assured me that my current mindset isn't one a Loss Adjuster would view as wildly opportunist and over-optimistic. 

Just to clarify... this isn't a claim against our own insurance (which we do have and it includes legal assistance) but Worcester Bosch claiming against their public liability insurance. Although, we have been advised by the environmental company rep.,  that they'll have a pretty huge claims excess so might even keep it in-house.

Relocating us for some weeks/months in a like-for-like property would be a significant expense as we are in the Lake District and the only short-let properties are expensive furnished holiday lets, which will be even more expensive come the time of our expected need in spring/summer. We'd much rather swan off in our motorhome and use that cash instead to top up the replacement/refurbishment process.

After one oil leak inside the house, we are not keen to leave ourselves open to another and would argue that rather than spending £3k to remove and reinstate a 14-year-old (albeit religiously maintained) boiler, that money would be more usefully spent towards a new externally sited boiler.

As to the bathroom... although fully functional, in good condition, and not particularly hard on the eye... it would be impossible to get anything to match. We had been toying for a few years with getting it done, but covid put the brakes on that, then labour prices doubled after lock-down eased... and they've stayed up.
As we had been intending putting the house up for sale this spring, our estate agent had advised us to leave the bathroom alone. That decision has now been taken out of our hands: we will have to do the bathroom and in any event will miss the chance of going to market this spring, or even summer.

All a bit of a bloody disaster really. That room was our main wardrobe and bedding storage area. Everything stinks to high-heaven. We are told both clothing and bedding will come good with a wash, but the expensive 2-year-old pocket-sprung mattress and ottoman/padded headboard bead will probably have to be scrapped.
What it has done to our health is anybody's guess, but it gave my wife sore eyes and we've both had a suspicious number of headaches.

Van_Girl

I've worked on several domestic heating oil spills, though never inside the house, always from leaks to external tanks. They are extensive, expensive and cause a lot of upheaval so you truly have my sympathy.

On the alternative accommodation, the Loss Adjuster will absolutely understand the difficulties with getting a suitable rental in the area, and the expense and timescales involved (12 month min rentals in some areas). In a typical claim, there would be a limit for AA, but if yours is being managed directly through WB's insurer, I'm not sure exactly how that works (I have no involvement in AA, or contents). Absolutely no harm in negotiating hard for an agreeable figure for saving them the hassle and expense of a rental. 

You may have a good argument for moving and replacing the boiler, if the cost difference is minimal. But you might run into issues with locations of pipework, and depending on where your oil tank is located, you may find having to comply with current building regs makes things difficult. Just something to consider

Pilchardsmoney

Van_Girl said:

I've worked on several domestic heating oil spills, though never inside the house, always from leaks to external tanks. They are extensive, expensive and cause a lot of upheaval so you truly have my sympathy.

On the alternative accommodation, the Loss Adjuster will absolutely understand the difficulties with getting a suitable rental in the area, and the expense and timescales involved (12 month min rentals in some areas). In a typical claim, there would be a limit for AA, but if yours is being managed directly through WB's insurer, I'm not sure exactly how that works (I have no involvement in AA, or contents). Absolutely no harm in negotiating hard for an agreeable figure for saving them the hassle and expense of a rental. 

You may have a good argument for moving and replacing the boiler, if the cost difference is minimal. But you might run into issues with locations of pipework, and depending on where your oil tank is located, you may find having to comply with current building regs makes things difficult. Just something to consider

Much of the remedial work is now complete and we are now wondering what kind of figure might be justifiable in terms of compensation for disruption to our lives.

We ended up with a brand new external boiler... gratis... as the cost of removal, storage, re-fitting of the 14-year-old boiler, plus cost of providing a temporary external boiler to keep the house heated to minimum insurance requirements in our forced absence, was pretty close to the cost of a new external boiler and installation.
Screeded concrete floors were dug out in bedroom and bathroom and block partition wall demolished. It has now all been made good, except we now need to get new fitted wardrobes, carpet and decorating in the bedroom, and a full
refurb of the partially destroyed bathroom.

Worcester Bosch have been personally handling, "In House", all the out-of-pocket expenses like temporary accommodation and storage for contents of the two affected rooms, and we are in the process of being quoted re restitution costs to both bedroom and bathroom.

We have had so far almost 90 days of mayhem and disruption to our lives and plans. We had decided last autumn to put our home up for sale this spring... probably May... and then go on an extended motorhome holiday in Italy while viewings and offers were proceeding. That has all had to be shelved for another year because there is no way the house will be in presentable condition until much later this year... at the very earliest.
So we are now pondering what kind of compensation we might reasonably expect. We are 70+ year-old retirees rather than of working age... if that makes a difference. But at 70+, the prospect of one year, out of the very few we have left, being pretty fully occupied by this unwelcome and unexpected mayhem, hardly fills us with generous forgiveness for the incompetence of the WB service engineer. Apologies are nice, but a realistic compensation payout is much better. 

DullGreyGuy

But then you will be selling the house with a brand new boiler, bedroom and bathroom which will help with the sales process. 

Generally the courts dont award for "inconvenience" only for actual financial losses unless either the defendant has been unreasonable (doesn't sound like this case) or for example you agreed to live in the house through the process rather than them paying for alternative accommodation. 

The odds are they'll offer something as shut up money but you have very little argument with them to increase it and they may rescind the offer if you start threatening litigation etc

Pilchardsmoney

DullGreyGuy said:

But then you will be selling the house with a brand new boiler, bedroom and bathroom which will help with the sales process. 

Generally the courts dont award for "inconvenience" only for actual financial losses unless either the defendant has been unreasonable (doesn't sound like this case) or for example you agreed to live in the house through the process rather than them paying for alternative accommodation. 

The odds are they'll offer something as shut up money but you have very little argument with them to increase it and they may rescind the offer if you start threatening litigation etc

It's pretty likely you are correct that we won't be offered compensation for our time, energy, hardship, altered plans, distress and discomfort... but we should, as it has had a major impact on our lives.
Most people are paid compensation for their time, energy, effort, hardship etc.; it's called remuneration for work. Nobody can tell me that what my wife and I have been enduring for the last few months is NOT akin to plain hard work. Even if you just count the time and energy spent writing emails to various involved parties and interfacing with tradesmen... it has virtually been a full-time job. It can hardly be just to ignore that aspect of any claim.