Home insurance claim following a leak

chutuk

Hi All,

Recently had  leak from the bathroom when the flush pipe on the toilet failed.  Just looking for some guidance on the home insurance claim now as it's my first time making any claim of this sort. 

Basicaly, the insurance sent out a loss adjuster to survey the damage and he produced quite a comprehensive report detailing the works required to put things right, however the settlement from the insurance and works required don't appear to match up...

In short they've advised I need

• 4sqm of ceiling replacing with new plasterboard, plaster and 2 coats of paint,

• Entire re-decoration to the kitchen (currently wallpapered at 23sqm)
  
  
• Entire re-decoration to the dining room, including stain block paint for the ceiling.  (currently wallpapered at 14sqm)  
  
  
• Re-instatement of the bathroom Vanity unit, they've allowed a plumber 1 day (7hrs) for this. 

The settlement figure they've offered is £1400, which is before they take their £350 excess.  That seems quite low to me given the amount of works they've scoped.  Especially as it's to include all materials and removal of all waste.

They've advised me to get quotes from my own tradesmen which I have started, but a common theme I'm finding is none of them seem keen on 'bit work' and are only interested in full refurbshments or projects. 

Is this very much like car insurance where I should reject the first offer or does that seem reasonable?   Just for comparison, a recent quote from a plumber to replace bath and basin taps was £150.  (Took under 90mins)  and for re-decoration of a similar sized bedroom I recently paid £615 inc labour and materials.  

What's your experience with these claims and offers made from the insurance? 

thebullsback

past couple of claims I've put in insurance company has supplied the trades people to do the job. Getting your own quotes seems a bit old fashioned to me nowadays .

chutuk

thebullsback said:

past couple of claims I've put in insurance company has supplied the trades people to do the job. Getting your own quotes seems a bit old fashioned to me nowadays .

They've offered that as an option, but advised I'd be waiting 3-4 months due to how busy they are.

BarelySentientAI

chutuk said:

Is this very much like car insurance where I should reject the first offer or does that seem reasonable?   J

If you plan to disagree, then you need to do it with the quotes they have asked for.  It isn't a market stall.

chutuk

BarelySentientAI said:

chutuk said:

Is this very much like car insurance where I should reject the first offer or does that seem reasonable?   J

If you plan to disagree, then you need to do it with the quotes they have asked for.  It isn't a market stall.

Sorry, maybe I've phrased the question badly.

I'm planning on going back with quotes to counter their figure,  My question is more, should I expect home insurance to cover the cost of repairing the damage in full, or will they generally only offer 50-70% of the value?  What are peoples experiences when they have made similar claims?  

DullGreyGuy

chutuk said:

BarelySentientAI said:

chutuk said:

Is this very much like car insurance where I should reject the first offer or does that seem reasonable?   J

If you plan to disagree, then you need to do it with the quotes they have asked for.  It isn't a market stall.

Sorry, maybe I've phrased the question badly.

I'm planning on going back with quotes to counter their figure,  My question is more, should I expect home insurance to cover the cost of repairing the damage in full, or will they generally only offer 50-70% of the value?  What are peoples experiences when they have made similar claims?  

It depends what cover you have. 

Most people dont have Matching Set cover in which case the insurer will cover 100% of repairing the damaged elements and 50% of the undamaged elements that match... eg if you have 1 wall damaged but need to re-wallpaper all 4 to keep it the same then its circa 65% of the overall cost

chutuk

DullGreyGuy said:

It depends what cover you have. Most people dont have Matching Set cover in which case the insurer will cover 100% of repairing the damaged elements and 50% of the undamaged elements that match... eg if you have 1 wall damaged but need to re-wallpaper all 4 to keep it the same then its circa 65% of the overall cost

That's useful to know, thanks for that.  Will be handy when assessing what is reasonable settlement figure. 

DullGreyGuy

chutuk said:

DullGreyGuy said:

It depends what cover you have. Most people dont have Matching Set cover in which case the insurer will cover 100% of repairing the damaged elements and 50% of the undamaged elements that match... eg if you have 1 wall damaged but need to re-wallpaper all 4 to keep it the same then its circa 65% of the overall cost

That's useful to know, thanks for that.  Will be handy when assessing what is reasonable settlement figure. 

You need to check your cover and confirm with the Adjustor the basis of their calculation. 

You may have Matching Set cover or they may decide there is a bit of damage to all walls so no need to trigger the limit of not having matching set. 

BarelySentientAI

chutuk said:

BarelySentientAI said:

chutuk said:

Is this very much like car insurance where I should reject the first offer or does that seem reasonable?   J

If you plan to disagree, then you need to do it with the quotes they have asked for.  It isn't a market stall.

Sorry, maybe I've phrased the question badly.

I'm planning on going back with quotes to counter their figure,  My question is more, should I expect home insurance to cover the cost of repairing the damage in full, or will they generally only offer 50-70% of the value?  What are peoples experiences when they have made similar claims?  

They will pay 100% of what they are supposed to cover according to your policy.

Where people think they've been "underdone" is because they don't understand matching set cover like DGG mentioned, they want cash and are being offered items/vouchers at the cost to the insurer of providing the items, or as in your case they're offering the price that they would have to pay their tradesmen to do it.