Home Home insurance claim:Do I need a loss assessor?

Last year I contacted by Home insurance company for a subsidence. They sent a loss adjustor around and he gave me to understand that it would not be covered (reasons were given) although this had to be confirmed. As my loss assessor and his engineers were slow in their investigations, the matter dragged on into the New Year. Meanwhile another incident has occurred: an oil spill (unfortunately) is located close to where the subsidence is happening.
The Insurance company were contacted and they sent a (new) Loss Adjustor to assess the damage and he is aware of both problems. The Loss Adjustor organised a team of inspectors and came around too to write his report. He is now waiting for the tests and a report from the soil contaminant experts before a decision is arrived at. Its not clear at this point whether the insurance company will cover the costs associated with the damage and I am not sure if I need a Loss Assessor? Assuming the insurance company cover the costs, need I concern myself how its done and who does it. Surely the insurance company are obliged to ensure that works carried out are done correctly, guaranteed and signed off to their satisfaction? All comments welcome!

what were the reasons given for not covering the subsidence problem?

polarbear said:

Surely the insurance company are obliged to ensure that works carried out are done correctly, guaranteed and signed off to their satisfaction?

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We had a claim once one/two years ago and cheque for four figures came in the post. No follow up whatsoever.

I have a friend who had an oil leak. It turned out to be very serious. They were out of their house for months - it had contaminated their well so their water supply was severely compromised. A loss assessor made their lives a whole lot easier.

Inadequate drainage and poor workmanship. Over the 22year period the house was insured for subsidence and while the house was insured for the risk (subsidence) no rep from the insurance company was sent to assess the house to see if there were any issues that would compromise our claim 22 years later and warn us that unless we rectified the problem we were not covered.

Fortunately I don't have a well but the spill is very close to a retaining wall and the oil may have gone under the foundation of the house. Waiting for soil tests to come back which will indicate the seriousness of the spill/contamination. I am concerned that the insurance company will find a way of holding me responsible one way or another even though it was an accident. The tank is serviced every two years ago and would have had it serviced again this year.

Thanks for posting.
Interesting. Did the insurance company work out the cost of remediation or did you provide them with a figure and contracted the work out yourself. Was it a small/large oil spill? Did you have to move out and for how long?
PB

polarbear said:

Last year I contacted by Home insurance company for a subsidence. They sent a loss adjustor around and he gave me to understand that it would not be covered (reasons were given) although this had to be confirmed. As my loss assessor and his engineers were slow in their investigations, the matter dragged on into the New Year.

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If it was confirmed that you do have a subsidence issue then it should have been covered as subsidence is one of the standard insured risks of any policy. The only general exclusions relate to poor workmanship and construction but that generally only relates to properties where a problem arises early on after construction.

polarbear said:

Meanwhile another incident has occurred: an oil spill (unfortunately) is located close to where the subsidence is happening.
The Insurance company were contacted and they sent a (new) Loss Adjustor to assess the damage and he is aware of both problems. The Loss Adjustor organised a team of inspectors and came around too to write his report. He is now waiting for the tests and a report from the soil contaminant experts before a decision is arrived at.

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Again this is a standard insured risk. The tests would only be required to ascertain the extent of damage but "escape of oil" is a standard cover item and you will be covered for the cost of repair. Oil decontamination is a specialist operation and does involve excavating to form a sump hole and then draining away the oil followed by treatment and then reinstatement. The smell of the oil is not a healthy smell and you would generally need to move out during the repairs

polarbear said:

Its not clear at this point whether the insurance company will cover the costs associated with the damage and I am not sure if I need a Loss Assessor?

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If you have an escape of oil I cannot see what grounds they would have not to deal with the issue. The only real exclusions would be the repair to the item that allowed the escape of oil in the first place, ie pipe, tank etc

polarbear said:

Assuming the insurance company cover the costs, need I concern myself how its done and who does it. Surely the insurance company are obliged to ensure that works carried out are done correctly, guaranteed and signed off to their satisfaction? All comments welcome!

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It depends on weather they are simply going to write a cheque or are they going to have the repairs carried out directly by appointing a contractor. If the later you should employ someone to supervise the work on your behalf and the insurance company will pay for same and if the first one, then you should be arranging for at least one quote from an oil decontamination specialist.

KKelliher - thank you so much for taking the time to post. Your comments have given me hope and (possibly) valid grounds to challenge the loss adjustor's assertions! The room where the subsidence occurred is an extension with a flat roof which was erected in 1970 or mid 70s. A sunroom was added in 1991 spanning the entire length of the two bedrooms. According to the loss adjuster, the builder did not ensure adequate drainage from the run off of water from from the flat roof as drains went straight into the ground beside the wall and not into a drain that would channel the water away from the house (hence the case for poor workmanship). In view of what you have said, I now wonder
if the extensions was build in 1970 and a crack was first noticed in 1991 and progressively got worse in the intervening years can the adjustor still assert subsidence was due to inadequate drainage?
Thank you once again for your valuable input. You've been really helpful. PB

emeralds said:

I have a friend who had an oil leak. It turned out to be very serious. They were out of their house for months - it had contaminated their well so their water supply was severely compromised. A loss assessor made their lives a whole lot easier.

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Thanks Emerald. Do you know if they got one at the very start or when they felt the insurance company was not paying them enough to cover costs? It looks like the Insurance company ask for quotes via their adjustor and expect me to come up with an equivalent figure which may not always be possible especially if they underquoted. If I could use the company who supplied the quotes to the insurance company I guess there wont be problem!

Sandals said:

We had a claim once one/two years ago and cheque for four figures came in the post. No follow up whatsoever.

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Thanks for your post Sandals. Sounds like your experience was pretty straightforward? Did the cheque cover the cost for the remedial work? Can you recall how long the entire process took from lodging the claim to getting the work completed? Did you have to move out?
PB