Home Insurance Claim Help!

mantamark

Things are going from bad to worse!

Firstly, i live in the 1st floor flat, along a terraced street of similar houses.

Last Friday, when it was very windy, the chimney belonging to next door (upstairs too) blew over. That wouldnt really trouble me, but it fell onto my roof, it wasnt just the pot, but the whole stack, it has caused alot of damage.

Damage we have found so far...

4 holes in rear part of roof, 3 upright beams cracked, one vertical beam (what i beleive to be a main support) is badly cracked, rear flat roof is damaged (will explain more of this in a bit), front wall / gate is wrecked, door step tiles are smashed, rubble in front & rear yard.

We got in touch with next door, they own the flat, as do we own ours. They said they would get their insurance to sort it out (as i would expect), we waited til monday, someone called a loss adjuster came out from their insurance company. (it goes downhill from here) Because the chimney falling over was an accident, and cant be blamed on anyone, we have to go through our own insurance, pay our £100 and loose our no claims bonus.

Well, to me, thats a load of balls, and is totally annoying!

If i was in a car, and i accidently hit someone, i would still have to use my insurance to fix the other persons car? its common sense! So why is housing insurance different???

Anyway, our loss adjuster is fully booked, and can't come out till the 11th Feb. Bearing in mind the damage was done on the 25th Jan.

So, someone came out, put some sheeting over the holes in the roof, and over the flat roof. (can we go even further downhill from where we already are? looks like it!)

Phew, that was bad enough for me, then...

it snowed yesterday, we finished work, went to the shops, came home at 6pm, we spent the next 3hrs mopping the floor, turning the ringmain for the lights off, removing everything from the kitchen. The roof has leaked, the water has come through the light fitting, its under the paint in the walls, theres patches all over the ceiling, towels are wrecked.

So, ring the nice man at Tesco Insurance once again, and may i say he was the most ignorant little git i have ever spoken to!
"Oh, im sorry, we cant do anything to speed the process up"
"what if the roof falls in? theres 10 days before someone can come out, THEN we have to book the work to get fixed!"
"Oh, we wouldnt want the roof to fall in, that would be terrible"
"yeh, thanks alot for your amazing help there"
"thankyou, call again"

GRRRRRRR!

Basically, i want to know if i'm being done over, or if this is standard procedure?

I cant carry out ANY repairs until this loss adjuster has been to see the damage?

I have to use my money to pay the excess?

I have to put up with ignorant SOB's on the phone?

I can't get any sort of priority, considering my flat roof could collapse?

I'm totally sick, and this has been one of the worst experiences in my life!

These people are meant to be there to help you, thats what im paying them for, yet they do nothing to help! If i miss a payment, they'll be here knocking my door down complaining, but they cant get their fingers out of there butts to help me!

AAARRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!

Any help would be appreciated!

Mark

Some pics of the damage...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/mantamark/random/100_2895.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/mantamark/random/100_2891.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/mantamark/random/100_2903.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v255/mantamark/random/100_2905.jpg

:mad:

Sooperted

you could go ahead and get all the work carried out on your own back, but you would have to take several and I mean several photographs of the damage and also have a fully detailed report and survey of the damage from the builder as well as two estimates for repairs to show that you have chosen the most competitive estimate.

then if insurers accept your claim they would be able to reimburse you the costs.

mattymoo

To claim against the neighbour you would have to prove they were somehow negligent. If the chimney stack had been in a poor state of repair and bits had fallen off in the past, you might succeed. However, if it was simply the high winds that caused it to fall, with no prior warning, you'll not be able to prove it.

In addition, looking at th photos provided it looks like your roof is the original slate and the neighbour has newer tiles, suggesting it was re-roofed in the past few years. That would be an indication that the neighbour is maintaining the property and so again, harder to prove they were negligent.

That means you have to claim against your own insurance and yes, an excess will be payable.

Do agree though that the service from Tesco is pretty appalling. It is viewed as an economy policy and sometimes, I'm afraid you get what you pay for.