Home Insurance Discussion

youth_leader

Evening Doc_N, a happy update and a big thank you from me, it was genius to suggest I write to the CEO. 

Thank you for the good wishes Annemos.  

My surveyor told me on Friday that he had found a roofer able to quote for the works, they visited whilst I was out.  On Monday he sent me a long letter, and the quote, and told me to upload them both to the customer portal, which I did.

I've not felt I've been treated well during this, I've had to do far too much chasing, so also wrote a complaint email, and copied in the CEO who had contacted me directly following the surveyor/claim handlers visit..

A while later the claims handler phoned me and we had an interesting conversation regarding the letter and quote.  I have not enjoyed using the customer portal at all as I'm nervous of 'pressing the wrong thing', it's so impersonal,  it was nice to speak to him.  He seems a genuinely nice man and said he was very sorry I wasn't watertight, and he would investigate why I still had the roof etc in my garden.  He discussed the quote I'd submitted, said he wondered if the company could come and make the roof watertight,  ideally he would like my surveyor to obtain a second quote for comparison but realised that could be difficult as the majority of roofers were out on urgent jobs.  He said he would speak to his surveyor again as he had costed a different quality roof, and get back to me.  

About an hour later he rang back and said they would pay the quote, without VAT, but if I was charged VAT to submit the bill and they would pay it.  He said I'd be paid for my sofa and carpet separately, and if I submitted a VAT registered invoice I could claim the temporary make safe works which aren't covered under a cash settlement.  He said could I go on the site to accept it when we finished speaking, I tried but the settlement figure was blank.  Late this afternoon I was able to accept both settlement figures, I have resisted the urge to check my bank account yet.

I am so relieved that I'll be able to instruct the company that quoted and hopefully not have to pay too much more if something unexpected happens.  They might be able to do the work mid January, so not too many more weeks of sitting on my bed and bucket emptying.  I like being a couch potato, and miss my afternoons on the sofa watching tv! 

The bad news is I've had the quote for the wet/dry rot and also woodworm apparently in the floorboarded bedroom and the damp weyroc floors in the other room - £5K plus VAT. It will be more if I get the other bedroom and hallway investigated.  A neighbour said he saw the previous owner stripping out all of the floorboards about five years ago - she had only left me the details of her new carpet fitting.  I hadn't expected such a large expense in my first year here.  Laughable I'd invited her to stay here if she came back to visit her friends! 

Thanks again, I wish you a Very Happy Christmas! 

Annemos

That is such good news about the claim. Everything sounds as if it is in the process of being done correctly and fairly, now. 

I know from experience how terribly stressful an insurance claim can be when it goes wrong, you are alone and you don't know which way to turn.

I have also had help from this website. It is so fortunate it is here for us. 

Youth_leader   I think you will be all finished before me, because mine is brickwork that needs the good weather. And I have also complained to the Ombudsman. 

Do please update us when everything is done. Best wishes to you. 

Doc_N

youth_leader said:

Evening Doc_N, a happy update and a big thank you from me, it was genius to suggest I write to the CEO. 

Thank you for the good wishes Annemos.  

My surveyor told me on Friday that he had found a roofer able to quote for the works, they visited whilst I was out.  On Monday he sent me a long letter, and the quote, and told me to upload them both to the customer portal, which I did.

I've not felt I've been treated well during this, I've had to do far too much chasing, so also wrote a complaint email, and copied in the CEO who had contacted me directly following the surveyor/claim handlers visit..

A while later the claims handler phoned me and we had an interesting conversation regarding the letter and quote.  I have not enjoyed using the customer portal at all as I'm nervous of 'pressing the wrong thing', it's so impersonal,  it was nice to speak to him.  He seems a genuinely nice man and said he was very sorry I wasn't watertight, and he would investigate why I still had the roof etc in my garden.  He discussed the quote I'd submitted, said he wondered if the company could come and make the roof watertight,  ideally he would like my surveyor to obtain a second quote for comparison but realised that could be difficult as the majority of roofers were out on urgent jobs.  He said he would speak to his surveyor again as he had costed a different quality roof, and get back to me.  

About an hour later he rang back and said they would pay the quote, without VAT, but if I was charged VAT to submit the bill and they would pay it.  He said I'd be paid for my sofa and carpet separately, and if I submitted a VAT registered invoice I could claim the temporary make safe works which aren't covered under a cash settlement.  He said could I go on the site to accept it when we finished speaking, I tried but the settlement figure was blank.  Late this afternoon I was able to accept both settlement figures, I have resisted the urge to check my bank account yet.

I am so relieved that I'll be able to instruct the company that quoted and hopefully not have to pay too much more if something unexpected happens.  They might be able to do the work mid January, so not too many more weeks of sitting on my bed and bucket emptying.  I like being a couch potato, and miss my afternoons on the sofa watching tv! 

The bad news is I've had the quote for the wet/dry rot and also woodworm apparently in the floorboarded bedroom and the damp weyroc floors in the other room - £5K plus VAT. It will be more if I get the other bedroom and hallway investigated.  A neighbour said he saw the previous owner stripping out all of the floorboards about five years ago - she had only left me the details of her new carpet fitting.  I hadn't expected such a large expense in my first year here.  Laughable I'd invited her to stay here if she came back to visit her friends! 

Thanks again, I wish you a Very Happy Christmas! 

Thanks for the update - I'm pleased things are moving forward, but sorry you're still not watertight, and that there are so many other issues to deal with.

Bear the CEO in mind should you have any further problems - it shouldn't be necessary, but sometimes it just is.  I'm guessing you've considered moving out for a while (insurance policies often cover that) but would prefer not to?

I do hope you manage to have a good Christmas, though I imagine it's not going to be easy.  Whatever you decide to do, I wish you all the very best.

youth_leader

Hello Doc_N, just back in from checking the bin and buckets, we have heavy rain, quite a shock as I've had a dry week!   It's pouring in fast in two places, luckily the recycling bin is under the worst leak and is so big I can go to bed without worrying it will overflow.  My surveyor went up and did what he could today with extra plastic.

As I have an elderly 16 year old cat I've resisted moving out, she's tolerated the two moves since February 2020 and I'll just stick it out, I do have heating and electricity in the bedrooms.  I'm not even thinking about the floors for the moment, it has been a big shock. 

I will bear the CEO in mind as I was concerned they wouldn't pay the VAT, thank you.  I've just had a request to give a review on TrustPilot - I haven't got the money in my account yet, I'll wait until then! 

Thank you again for your help and encouragement, I am pleased to end the year with the cash in the bank (eventually!)  ready to give to the contractor when he's available.  

Doc_N

youth_leader said:

Hello Doc_N, just back in from checking the bin and buckets, we have heavy rain, quite a shock as I've had a dry week!   It's pouring in fast in two places, luckily the recycling bin is under the worst leak and is so big I can go to bed without worrying it will overflow.  My surveyor went up and did what he could today with extra plastic.

As I have an elderly 16 year old cat I've resisted moving out, she's tolerated the two moves since February 2020 and I'll just stick it out, I do have heating and electricity in the bedrooms.  I'm not even thinking about the floors for the moment, it has been a big shock. 

I will bear the CEO in mind as I was concerned they wouldn't pay the VAT, thank you.  I've just had a request to give a review on TrustPilot - I haven't got the money in my account yet, I'll wait until then! 

Thank you again for your help and encouragement, I am pleased to end the year with the cash in the bank (eventually!)  ready to give to the contractor when he's available.  

Just a quick word. First the VAT is unarguable. If you have to pay it, the insurer has to reimburse you. Second, I’d advise you to hold back on Trustpilot until there’s absolutely no risk of any further disagreement with the insurer, and that may not be for some time. Unless of course your review is negative. Companies will always be aware of reviews, and the last thing you want is anything being used against you to your disadvantage.

youth_leader

Thank you Doc_N - the quote had a figure of around £3k VAT which I'll obviously have to find in advance, so that is great news.  

I will definitely hold back on the review until everything is settled. 

My surveyor thinks I've been treated badly considering I am an older woman living alone without a roof, he thinks I was too low on their priority list.  Their contractors are booked until March.  My surveyor cannot be paid by the insurance company and he has refused to take any payment from me.  I am so grateful to him, one of my biggest fears was electrocution, the unit hasn't been labelled correctly and I was unsure of switching anything back on.  He has been round almost every day of the three and a half weeks, I have been very lucky.  

youth_leader

Hello, just a quick update from me. 

My misfortune has proved to be good fortune. The builder came on Wednesday and said he could start work yesterday,  preparing the roof for the builder,  apparently we have a window of dry weather predicted.  When they were leaving last night I went to say goodbye and it seems the roof hadn't been fitted properly.  The junction of the concrete roof to the flat roof was wrong,  rain water has been leaking straight under the flat roof.  Very lucky not have had the bedroom ceiling crash down on me in bed!  Or in the bath!  The team have made great progress and the huge pile of new insulation has arrived, I'm paying separately for this, hopefully it will be more energy efficient now.

Good luck to everyone else dealing with insurance companies.  I will be leaving this company at renewal in February, need to start researching very carefully soon.

Doc_N

youth_leader said:

Hello, just a quick update from me. 

My misfortune has proved to be good fortune. The builder came on Wednesday and said he could start work yesterday,  preparing the roof for the builder,  apparently we have a window of dry weather predicted.  When they were leaving last night I went to say goodbye and it seems the roof hadn't been fitted properly.  The junction of the concrete roof to the flat roof was wrong,  rain water has been leaking straight under the flat roof.  Very lucky not have had the bedroom ceiling crash down on me in bed!  Or in the bath!  The team have made great progress and the huge pile of new insulation has arrived, I'm paying separately for this, hopefully it will be more energy efficient now.

Good luck to everyone else dealing with insurance companies.  I will be leaving this company at renewal in February, need to start researching very carefully soon.

Really pleased to hear that!  Hope all continues to go well, and that everything's soon back to normal.

Absolutely right about researching a new insurer.  Take a look at Which? or something similar for that - there are some very clear winners in terms of quality, and not necessarily that much more expensive.

youth_leader

Without your help I wouldn't be in this happy position, the loss adjuster wasn't able to come until 6 January, thank you again Doc_N.   

I will have a look at Which, I am happy to pay more for the 'peace of mind'.  

Annemos

So happy to hear this, youth_leader. 

Some of us need more than Good Luck when dealing with Insurers. We need a miracle and I think this is what you have. 

(I am still waiting to see if I will get one!)

All the best from me.