nsurance Problem

A question about : nsurance Problem

On Jan 2nd, i thought some one had spilt a drink went to wipe it up & realised the carpet underneath was soaking. After further investigation the living room & passage carpet plus underlay were water damaged. I took it all up and went about drying out both areas. I had to drag carpet etc outside. I checked both radiators to see if leak was coming from there but couldn't find one. I had also turned off water.

Contacted insurance company (Monday 4th ) who asked me were carpet was.I explained i had put it outside then took it down the tip. ( reason being it was covered in snow& ice ) Was told in future don't get rid of it. I had kept a piece (dry) Told me insurance assesor would be out on 11th Jan. He came & went with all the details.

10 days gone never heard anything so phoned up & was told claim was null & void because i had got rid of carpet and that they could have done something to dry the carpet out. Plus why didn't i put a soaken wet carpet & underlay in another room. To say i was angry is a understatement. I asked why did they send assessor out then? They said it was a communication error. They have now passed me over to customer relations because am not happy. They have written to me and have said they will investigate my claim & get in touch within 28 days.

Watch this space.

ps, sorry for the rant

Best answers:

• Hi Farquar,
  look at it from their point of view, you find water damage to carpet, take it up, leave it outside, then take it to the tip, 2 full days later you ring them and expect them to replace it?
  did you take pictures of the damage?
  Whilst I'm not implying you've done anything underhand and the circumstances I'm sure are down to your innocent ignorance, as far as they are concerned it's has the hallmarks of a fraudulant claim.
  Insurance companies are within their rights to ask you to prove your loss.
  what was the cause of the water damage? if you can prove a leaking pipe or similar you might be able to fight your case.
  good luck with it anyway
  DD
• Hi, i had to take it outside because it was soaking wet through. I couldn;t put it in another room because then it would have ruined that carpet. The water damage was down to a leaking pipe.
  Thanks for reply.
• I spent 7 years in this line of work and have come across this type of declined claim on several occasions, what you have done is not unreasonable, the smell from a wet and sodden carpet is to say the least unpleasant. unless the person who took your call specifically asked you to keep the carpet I would pester the life out of them, ask for an alternative loss adjuster finally contact the insurance ombudsman.
  Word of caution, check what your excess is, if the excess is a figure approaching the value of replacing the carpet it may not be worth carrying on as it is possible your premium will rise due to the claim
• I believe Insurers have the right to ask you to prove your claim.
  If you took the carpet to the tip before reporting it you can not prove your loss, and in that instance they can decline the claim.
  I know when we claimed we where told not to dispose of the carpet and they sent someone round to inspect it to try to dry it out.