Cash settlement

Skintsaver

My insurer asked if I could provide an weblink to replace an item. I was unable to find this but sent 2x quotes from 2 contractors. The insurance company agreed to pay a cash settlement for the lower of the 2 quotes. But now I am unable to contact that contractor. Am I obliged to use this contractor? Or can I go elsewhere and what happens if I find a cheaper or more expensive quote?

Insurer has already paid me a cash settlement and marked this part of my claim as complete.

BarelySentientAI

No obligation.

There's not even any obligation to spend the cash on repairs/replacement.

But no, they won't change the payment up or down if you find a different quote either.

Aretnap

Cash settlement means that the claim is settled by paying you cash, and once you recieve the cash the claim is complete.

What you do with the cash at that point is entirely up to you and doesn't affect the claim. Buy an identical item, buy a slightly different item (cheaper or more expensive), don't replace the item at all and spend the money on something else entirely,  it makes no difference to anything.

DullGreyGuy

The only caveat to this is that you are obliged to keep your home in a good state of repair so yes if your oven is broken and you decide you're happy living with an airfryer you could spend the money on something else. If however your claim is for a fallen tree taking off half your roof in principle you could spend the money on something else but you are unlikely to other claims covered until the roof is repaired (within a reasonable timeframe)