A question about : Nightmare with flood damage claim
First of all can I say that now I'm in the middle of what is in essence a small claim for a flooded cellar I truly admire anybody who is having to go through this for a whole house flood.
I can honestly say that my insurance policy and Ј780 a year premium just isn't worth it.
My sorry tale:
Came back off holiday to find the cellar had been flooded for 2 weeks, phoned the insurance company on 2nd July to make a claim. Loss Adjusters appointed. Clearance company appointed, they turned up on 6th July to a cellar 4 inches deep in water saying oh we weren't told there was water down here, they went away again. Came back again on the Wednesday but later than they said so I sent them away again - after they had plugged a de humidifier in. Came back today to clear the cellar out have put it all on the front drive and written a list which says:
Table - no clue as to how big, what wood or how old.
Boxed tabel and chairs - as above
Box of Christmas decorations - worth what 10p per bauble or Ј10 per bauble?
etc etc still no sign of the loss adjuster.
Realise that this list isn't going to get me a proper pay out so phone up loss adjuster who tells me that I have to go through these stinking horrible boxes and I have to write a list unless I can provide them with receipts for everything - I always keep receipts for baubles don't you?
Apparently the clearance company don't have to do this as they wouldn't know the value of everything.
The insurance company say it's not down to them they've appointed a loss adjuster! I went mad and said what on earth do I pay my premium for and it is your responsibility I pay the premium to YOU.
Rang clearance company they're now coming back out on Wednesday to do what they should have done today - properly itemise everything, and the jolly old loss adjuster is coming out as well. In the meantime everything is outside in the pouring rain on my driveway.
Insuarance - pah
Best answers:
- I expected the clearance company to go through all bags boxes etc and help me to itemise the items - i.e 100 baubles in this box, oh this box contains 20 strands of tinsel etc etc.
I didn't expect to have to don rubber gloves outside on my drive and go through everything where they had just dumped it - remember this is stinking smelly stuff which has been rotting for 4 weeks in water.
No problem with attaching a value either - just the complete lack of co-ordination and mis communication is unparalleled and has made a bad situation worse. I don't appreciate it.
Can you now understand my frustration?
We'll see what they say now about my total claim. - Appreciate this is a difficult time for you but how do you expect anyone other than yourself to know how much your items cost?
The cost of any item varies massively so yes im afraid it is down to you to substantiate your claim and provide a price of its worth
Pretty standard practice and i fail to see what the alternatives are?
Regards the LA comig and then going with their being water down again there is no point installing drying out equipment until the flood water has gone
You have to expect a degree of inconvenenience with a flood - And how exactly many big warehouses do you see empty in the exact areas you need?
You'd then have people moaning about having to travel to the warehouse. Plus having to pay for security, staff etc. - im sure we all appreciate its a difficult time but there is little alternative than what is currently offered
- it's the going through the stinking rotten filthy items with only an old pair of Marigolds that bugs me - isn't this what the cleaning people are supposed to do?
I don't mind valuing it - but what about them itemising it as they take it out of the bags rather than dumping it in unopened soggy boxes on my driveway writing down box of decorations and leaving?
Am I missing something here ? Is this really what I should have expected to happen?
No the LA didn't come round and go again they have never been, it was the cleaning people who came round said Oh we weren't told there was still water down there we don't have the equipment and left again.
God help anybody who has a severe flood or a fire. - I guess you shouldn't have bought a property subject to flooding!!!
Always by on a hill!!! - We got flooded 3 weeks ago - or was it 4?
Can't remember... without checking.
What I do know is that the insurance company have been wonderful.
Our claim will be settled in full next week.... (provided that the building work is completed as expected).
Admittedly, ours was a small claim, but we did manage to avoid damage to the furniture.
There are a lot of people out there who still can't go home, I know.
We were lucky that the damage was minimal.
I sympathise with people that had a more serious problem, but insurers are human too! These things take time - our case was fairly straightforward.
However, in my experience, insurance companies are fair, provided that you don't try to rip them off. - What I do know is that the insurance company have been wonderful.
Our claim will be settled in full next week.... (provided that the building work is completed as expected).
Exactly and ours haven't been - hence my annoyance.
However, in my experience, insurance companies are fair, provided that you don't try to rip them off.[/quote]
Wouldn't dream of it, just wish they would give me decent service and not rip me off! - Macca I can't believe your attitude .
Swallow your pride and help others that are helping you .
All your talking about is christmas decorations .all they wanted was for you to give a reasonable figure for their value.
Those guys couldn't be busier and your moanin about a lack of service that quite frankly is your job ..You don't know the value of the goods you own and have not kept receipts .... - Macca,
Can I just ask you a question about your premium? £760 is big money for home & contents insurance unless your premium is loaded for flood risk or for claims history. Do you insure through your mortgage company?
I insure several properties online for my relatives and the highest premium was £450 for a 6 bed house! - For my tuppence worth - be grateful its a couple of boxes of christmas decorations and not all your possessions from the ground floor of your house as well as precious and irreplaceable photographs and sentimental items.
The insurance company and loss adjuster have been reasonable - the clearance company have cleared the items out of the cellar as they are required to, and you are required to go through the stuff in order to calculate what you feel the claim should be.
JM - did I not say in the first post that I truly was sorry for anybody with a whole house damage? Yes I did.
My flood was 6 weeks back now about the time that Hull got hit and 2 places in Nottingham got hit, not the most recent floods to put it in the correct light.
A few Christmas decorations as you put it also included a few Christmas decorations from my late mother and before you start on me again yes I know they shouldn't have been down there.
Leaving aside how much was in the cellar all I ask for from a claim is to be kept informed and for people to give me decent customer service, I don't expect to have my driveway covered in sodden items for a week, I don't expect the clearance people to tell me their list they've written and the loss adjuster tell me it isn't. I haven't got a problem in valuing the stuff I just wished somebody had told me before the clearance people had come and we could have done it together - you know opening sticking sodden boxes - which perhaps they were a little better equipped for than we were.
Ј760 is a big premium - I have to go through a specialist broker as the house has more than the standard number of rooms in it. I will obviously be changing companies on renewal.
The clearance company confirmed today that they thought the loss adjuster's attitude was awful as well.
I'll know better next time than to post on here - what do the rules say again about courtesy? - It says it very clearly
Be nice to all money savers - as I think this thread has now run it's course I'm going to close it - if anyone disagrees please report it the usual way
Macca - best of luck with the claim and the LA
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