Please help- home insurance delays in reimbursing for hotel and will soon cause financial hardship

bathroomless

Hello everyone 

We had a leak in our bathroom which means it is unusable. As we don't have a second toilet the insurance advised us to book a hotel "in the short term" and to send them receipts. 

I am having an absolute nightmare now getting this money back, they have paid us back the first 7 days of £700 and I am waiting for another £1500. My credit card is maxed out and I am due to pay for another 9 days stay in a week time. We have now been in the hotel for 20 days. 

Is it normal for us to have to pay for the hotel ourselves and be reimbursed? Surly there are lots of families who wouldn't be able to do this. If it is normal, how long should we be waiting for the money? I want to kick up a fuss about it but I don't know if this is actually completely normal! If they don't pay us this money in good time we will be in financial hardship as we just don't have the spare cash to cover the ongoing costs. 

We were also told we would get a distrubance allowance of £10 per adult per day and £7 per child. Again we haven't received this and its costing a fortune with no kitchen facilities. 

Thank you 

swingaloo

Do you really need a hotel for 20 plus days because of a leak in the bathroom? Im amazed any insurance company would agree to that. Why has the bathroom leak not been repaired?

Brie

You need to raise a complaint about the delay and include details about how much stress this is causing you.  Also include any details about not just the cost of the hotel etc but the effects of not having this money back promptly.  Interest being accrued on the card, other bills being paid late and therefore accruing fees etc.  

tacpot12

I don't know if it's normal, but it doesn't sound unreasonable IF you have a credit card with enough credit limit. For someone that didn't have any credit facilities, the insurance company would probably arrange for the hotel to invoice them directly. I suspect that if this turned into a longer sage, they could arrange this for you. 

I'm not sure you are being reasonable if you make a complaint at this point. Most credit cards don't charge interest on purchases for 30 days, so you are little way off incurring any interest. I think you should call the insurer and tell them the situation, and that you will expect them to pay any interest charges you incur. They won't want to do this and so should prioritise a payment to you. You can make the point that you need a payment for the disturbance allowance due to the costs of eating out. Perhaps an AirBnB or Aparthotel would have been a better choice for a family? 
. 
Ultimately, you may need to make a complaint, and Brie has given you some good information about what to ask for if you need to do so. 

 

bathroomless

Thank you all and I'm sorry for such a late response, I didn't see the notifications. 

 We are still in a hotel and have now made a conplaint. Still having to chase payments although some have been paid, but no distrubance allowance which they are ignoring. @swingaloo the leak caused damage to the floor boards which means they aren't safe to walk on- our toilet also came away from the floor so whilst yes the leak has stopped, yes we also need alternative accommodation as we have no usable toilet or washing facilities. Thank you @tacpot12 we haven't been able to find an airbnb in the local area and the insurance cant or won't help us find anything else. The hotel is just a premier inn 2 mins away from our house and schools so it just makes more sense. And thank you @Brie I have used your suggestions in my complaint 🙂