A family member had a significant insurance claim on his house recently and hired a loss assessor to act on his behalf with the insurance company. The assessor's percentage fee was agreed and when the final cheques arrived from the insurance company, the assessor was paid the agreed percentage of contents and of buildings.
However the assessor has now written back saying he wants his percentage fee to be calculated based on the initial figures agreed by the insurance company and not on the amount of the final cheques paid. The difference is that the initial figures included amounts for alternative accommodation and for supervisor fees and in both cases my relative incurred significantly less costs under these headings than the maximum amount the insurance company would have paid.
The contract and written communication from our loss assessor says his fee is a percentage of "total settlement".
My question is: is "total settlement" understood as the actual amount the insurance company paid, or is it considered the figures they offered before the work was carried out, and before my relative knew how long they'd need alterntive accommodation etc?
However the assessor has now written back saying he wants his percentage fee to be calculated based on the initial figures agreed by the insurance company and not on the amount of the final cheques paid. The difference is that the initial figures included amounts for alternative accommodation and for supervisor fees and in both cases my relative incurred significantly less costs under these headings than the maximum amount the insurance company would have paid.
The contract and written communication from our loss assessor says his fee is a percentage of "total settlement".
My question is: is "total settlement" understood as the actual amount the insurance company paid, or is it considered the figures they offered before the work was carried out, and before my relative knew how long they'd need alterntive accommodation etc?