Home House break in - insurance claim

[guessaname]

Hi,

There was a break-in in my house and the burglars damaged the PVC
window and kitchen internal door. The window was fixed now but the
window repairer suggested to change the whole window unit as its
frame was also damaged. The internal door needs frame replacement.
I talked to an insurance repairer (found this company on the
internet) , he said he'll repair everything (window, door frame,
painting etc) and negotiate with the insurer and make the claim pass.
This process looks easy for me but I'm worried how much he will claim
from the insurer and how much my premium will go up next year.
Other option is to arrange window repairer and carpenter myself to
repair the stuff (do the painting bit myself) and send the receipts
to the insurer.
I don't know which option will be better for me as I've never
experience this situation. The insurance repairer said he has to repaint
all the kitchen when window is replaced and whole stairs and landing
area when the door frame is replaced.
I understand there will be a bit of painting needed, probably I can do it myself.
Can somebody please advise me what I should do here?


thanks in advance

 

[DirectDevil]

Sympathies on that experience.

The first port of call is probably the claims department of the insurance company to see what they advise or recommend.

Never go with the first repairer who quotes you for anything.

Tell the insurers the preliminary information that you have been given and ask if they want to send out a loss adjuster. The adjuster will act for them and is there to verify the amount of damage and to overview the estimates. You are responsible for getting estimates and getting the work done.

 

[guessaname]

Thanks for ther reply. I informed the insurer and they are going to send the loss adjuster. The third party repairer who came to me says that the insurance company will never pay the full amount I want to replace the window. They will always try to pay very less amount for the claim. Is this true? If I send them an estimate for the window replacement and fixing the door frame, will they agree for the price and pay it to me?

Thanks

 

[Claimsman]

Thanks for ther reply. I informed the insurer and they are going to send the loss adjuster. The third party repairer who came to me says that the insurance company will never pay the full amount I want to replace the window. They will always try to pay very less amount for the claim. Is this true? If I send them an estimate for the window replacement and fixing the door frame, will they agree for the price and pay it to me?

Thanks

Let me assure you that this is not true. If you submit a reasonable claim for repair or replacement, then you will not have a difficulty. Difficulties can arise where people unwittingly appoint a builder who sees Euro signs when he realises that his quotation will form part of an Insurance claim. The Adjuster appointed will in the vast majority of these cases realise that this quotation is overstated and it is in these cases where reductions will be made. I would suggest that you ask Insurers to have one of their panel builders do the work and they can then pay him directly. If you would prefer to have the work done, then i would suggest that you obtain at least two seperate quotations for the work and submit these as part of your claim.

 

[guessaname]

Thanks a mil. for the replies. I will ask the insurer if they have any panel of builders who can do the repair for me.

Thanks again for the replies.

 

[Ed054]

Hi I am a loss assessor and I would generally produce a bill of quantatie to cover the cost of repairs which where necessary cover the cost of consequential damage ie if you have an open plan living area you may need to repaint the whole area.
I am happy to recomend a small number of builders but I am more then happy if the insured uses their own builder.
I have serious doubts about loss assessors who carry out repairs also as this in my view leads to a very serious conflict of interest.
I am very disapointed the the Regulator allows these companies to opperate.

 

[guessaname]

Hi I am a loss assessor and I would generally produce a bill of quantatie to cover the cost of repairs which where necessary cover the cost of consequential damage ie if you have an open plan living area you may need to repaint the whole area.
I am happy to recomend a small number of builders but I am more then happy if the insured uses their own builder.
I have serious doubts about loss assessors who carry out repairs also as this in my view leads to a very serious conflict of interest.
I am very disapointed the the Regulator allows these companies to opperate.

Thanks for that. Can you please recommend me some builders who can replace the PVC window and fix the door frame? I understand the whole room needs to be repainted if there will be some plastering work done when fixing but if the builder genuinely says the repainting is required and does not rip off me or insurance company I don't mind going ahead with the repainting. I know the paint code (I still have the paint tins) that was used to paint my kitchen, can I ask the builder to just touch up the area instead of repainting the whole room? Will the color match (it was paited 4 yrs back). Please advise me and recommend me the list of builders who can do the job for me.

Thanks a mil. for the reply

 

[MandaC]

Remember you can also appoint your own loss assessor, who will probably charge about 10% of the claim value, but sometimes it can be worth it, depending on the value of the claim.

I had a break in during the Summer and the front door was damaged (by a screwdriver) Getting it repaired would have left one section a slightly different colour, etc. As my house was new, I put in the cost of a new door. Insurance had no problem with this.

Initially I thought the overall cost of the claim would be a couple of hundred, but when I totalled everything up, it was more like a couple of thousand. Like you, I was not going to put in for everything, expensive handbag, wallet, etc, but I did have to replace them all and that was the cost. That is why you pay insurance.