Claim raised, photos sent - what do I do next?

bertiebb_2

I've started a claim with my insurer. Lots of water damage.

Question about how to proceed. I've sent them photos.

Are they now expecting me to get quotes etc for everything or do I wait for them to take a look and tell me what they'll pay for? Thats a lot of work.

Also, do they expect me to leave the flooring etc down until the look at it? Or can I do it straight away?

sheramber

Why a new post? Better to stick to the original which gives the background to what happened

BarelySentientAI

Having looked at that other thread - wait for the insurer, or you could well find it costs you a lot of money and you might get accused by the insurer of interfering with the progress of the claim and recovery of their costs.

Do not get things replaced, fixed, cleaned, moved, modified, or anything else that wasn't needed purely for controlling the amount of damage.

bertiebb_2

So insurance company are being a bit awkward.

They've offered me a cash settlement (telling me its best because it'll be "months" before they can their recommended builders out).

They're being a bit evasive about what this settlement covers. Some of the stuff including furniture they've passed off to another 3rd party.

I got quotes from TAPI for the floor, got a quote from a decorator for that. I appreciate the quotes may be slightly inflated but here's how it went.

TAPI floor only - £6000
Floor installation separate - £1500
Decorating - £800

Insurers have offered £4200 cash settlement which I think covers that (as above they won't confirm). Not even close.

Do I have the right to tell them not enough? Are they trying it on here? They seem very keen to get me to accept this.

BarelySentientAI

bertiebb_2 said:

Insurers have offered £4200 cash settlement which I think covers that (as above they won't confirm). Not even close.

Do I have the right to tell them not enough? Are they trying it on here? They seem very keen to get me to accept this.

"Offered".  You can decline.

They don't have to make you a higher offer though, they can just wait for their builders.  What they give you in cash is (roughly) what they would have to pay their contractors/suppliers for the thing to be done - so is often less than what you would pay as a retail customer.  Same with costs for items, as the insurer won't be paying £500 for a £500 TV, hence they won't give you £500 cash settlement for it.  It's not "trying it on".

bertiebb_2 said:

They're being a bit evasive about what this settlement covers. Some of the stuff including furniture they've passed off to another 3rd party.

By "another 3rd party", do you mean a disaster recovery company like Rainbow, Polygon or Belfor?  If so, that's standard practice.  They will report to the insurer on which items can be cleaned/repaired and which need to be replaced, and how much both of those things should cost.  That could then result in another settlement figure, either for all of the bits or for only the BER (beyond economic repair) ones.

DullGreyGuy

It's not unreasonable for you to ask them and receive a definitive list of what the settlement offer is intended to cover and what is going to be returned to you and in what state. You can accept the monies as interim settlement so you can get on with things but not full and final. 

Also need to be clear if the offer is net or gross of your excess... obv not fair to consider the claim net of your excess against the total cost 

liveletlive

Check your paperwork, many policies have new for old, so they should give you full value of a new or better item.

Whats the impact to you, will any of the costs compound the longer they leave it, if there are any costs like this its in the insurer interest to settle the claim.

Check the contract to see if there is time limit they have to get the problem resolved.

Overall be honest and stand your ground. Unfortunately due to sickness I have had to make a few claims. none of them immediately offered to pay out I had to tell them why I was covered. when I complained they said it was their error and paid me some compensation (£150). I think 9/10 people wouldn't push back so £150 compensation for one person is okay as they have saved thousands my initially declining.

There are some clever people in this forum who I have a lot of respect for but its my humble opinion that this forum favours the insurer.

my advice is don't be unreasonable, if your view is genuine push hard and don't back off. Get reliable evidence to back your position, if you can't find it you are probably wrong.

bertiebb_2

I've had a lot of evasive behaviour from the insurer here and they seem REALLY keen to get me to accept the cash settlement.

I've now appointed my own independent loss adjuster to take a look. Costs money obviously but I think I'm being taken for a ride here.

BarelySentientAI

bertiebb_2 said:

I've had a lot of evasive behaviour from the insurer here and they seem REALLY keen to get me to accept the cash settlement.

I've now appointed my own independent loss adjuster to take a look. Costs money obviously but I think I'm being taken for a ride here.

They're really keen to get you to accept cash because it closes that part of the case and gets it off their desk.