House Insurance Claims

hamiltron

My friend has a house that sustained damage last year. She didn't immediately realise how bad the damage was, but it turns out that she needs significant repairs to the roof/ceiling and some walls. The insurer came out to assess the damage and she got quotes for repairs from a builder (with much difficulty as the house is quite remote).

Problem is, now the insurers have come back and offered her half of the money the builder quoted. :mad: They are not questioning what work has to be done, but are basically offering her less for the cost of getting the jobs done than she was quoted. If my friend cannot get a builder to do the work for the amount that the insurance company is offering, does she have to pay the balance herself? :eek: If the cheapest quote she can get is for the amount she was originally quoted, surely that is the cost of repair and the insurance company should pay (less the excess obviously).

Thanks for any advice...

Ham

landser

before she does anything, she should get back onto the insurance company and ask why they are offering half. do they think that the quote is too high? they ahve to give her a reason. if she is having problems with them, contact the insurance ombudsman.

it could be that they are concerned with what they see as a late notification of a claim and are trying to use that to get out of paying the full amount.

if they don't pay, she'll have to.

RainyDay

What was the cause of the damage? Are the insurance company accepting liability?

hamiltron

Thanks for the advice so far.

Yes - the insurance company have accepted liability. The damage was caused by weather and they have not objected in any way to the conditions of the claim. They seem simply to be saying that the quote is too high.

But really, if only a couple of builders even consider the work and both quote exorbitant prices, I understand the insurance company's problem with paying out without question. Sometimes quotes can become inflated if a tradesperson knows the deep pockets of an insurance company are the source of the money to be paid...

Ham

***Considering a good quote for my sig...***

hamiltron

FYI, after a call to a manager in the insurance company, my friend has been told that the contractor handling the case in the region where her house is will be contacted and asked to deal directly with the builder to agree a fair price.

Seems that the major insurance companies subcontract the claims to small companies in the different regions in the country. For this reason, the standards may vary from place to place. She should know tomorrow what is happening.

Ham