Insurance claim- water damage and cowboys

tipsy_gypsy

If anybody can offer any advice, I would like to say thanks in advance...

Just under 2 yrs ago, I came back from holiday to find my downstairs flooded (result of a split flexihose).... I was with Barclays at the time (+others- over insured with other companies). My claim got passed to several companies, who subcontracted subcontractors, who then, subcontracted again... One of the things i'd been told I needed replaced, was skirting board, they had glued the damaged back on, I even had a flooring person be rude to me that I hadn't moved all my furniture out of the areas that needed new laminate (.
I am a single full time working Mum, that feels I really got a bad deal. (It cost me thousands to patch up what the insurers didn't pay out for -wall cupboards to match the base cupboards, new oven, ceramic hob etc.... the list went on. (What's the point of replacing only base units when the whole kitchen was about to be ripped out??)
To my horror, I discovered that the insurance pay out was for nearl 8K! I felt I had NO control over money being allocated for what, paid more than what I could afford to patch what wasn't covered and feel I could have had more done for half the amount paid out, plus saved myself a lot of money.
Work wasn't completed untill 6months after intial damage, Barclays were less than adequate as an Insurance company and even less sympathetic towards my situation.
....18months after my new floor being laid and jobs still outstanding to my previous dilemma, I have now found myself in the same situation.... Floors have been ripped up and I'm surrounded by noisy dehumidifiers once again.
I am at my wits end and really don't feel strong enough to go through it all again.
What REALLY hurts is I bought a 2nd hand fridge from a couple in a wealthy area, insured with Barclays, like me, had suffered less damage, had no dependants living with them, work was completed with 6wks- at a higher spec' than what they had hoped for, were put up in a lovely hotel with CASH payouts for their 'inconvenience' and had a payout of over 20K for their claim..... They weren't paying any more than me. So why was I treated with less courtesy???
This time, i'd like to be better informed and hopefully NOT having the fact that I'm a single woman taken advantage of....

Any suggestions please?

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Sorry about your troubles. No matter what, it's never nice making a claim.

The thing to remember is that Barclays are just an intermediary; they provide insurance arranged on their behalf by many different companies. One of the things that Barclays also do is look after their "premier" customers (the ones that have all the money) and have a specialist policy for them. It costs vastly more than a standard policy (the one you probably have), but it is the old story of "you get what you pay for".

Having said that, there are still standard that need to be observed. The Financial Services Authority have a principal called "treating customers fairly". If you are unhappy with your claim, I suggest you ask your insurers whether they feel they have treated you fairly and ask them to justify themselves.

mattymoo

You might want to consider appointing a claims assessor to work for you though I am loath to actually suggest this.

Loss adjuster works for the insurers to manage the claim on their behalf, appoint contractors and generally justift their fee, which the insurers pay. To this end, they will attempt to reduce the size of the claim.

Loss assessors work for the policyholder and the fee is paid by the policyholder, usually as a percentage of the amount recovered.

A good assessor (and I'm not going to put any names forward) will maximise the payout and identify things that can be claimed for that you / the adjuster may have missed.

A bad assessor can end up reducing the payout if they do not do their job well. One of the first things an adjuster does is give the insurers an estimate of the total claim cost. If a poor assessor is involved, they often reduce this.

Adjusters have professional exams and bodies. Assessors (to best of my knowledge) do not.

tipsy_gypsy

I would just like to say thank you for the advice you have given...
I'm feeling quite low at the moment, but your replies have been both insightful and cheered me up, that anyone would even take their time to reply..

They're coming to remove dehumidifiers 2mo, so I will feel a little braver to query certain things that I feel should be addressed.

Nice to know there ARE good people willing to help without gain....

Much appreciated:smileyhea