Fire damage to house, what to do?
Discussion
Hi guys. Need advice on what normal procedure is for extensive fire damage to my parents house. Fire originated in neighbours house.
Anyone got advice on what should/shouldnt be done? We contacted my parents insurance company, and they have sent out an assessor. Would it be wise to appoint a public loss assessor to represent our family interests? Their fees seem to be 10% +VAT, so could be quite sizable considering the damage involved.
Any and all advice/experience is welcome.
Anyone got advice on what should/shouldnt be done? We contacted my parents insurance company, and they have sent out an assessor. Would it be wise to appoint a public loss assessor to represent our family interests? Their fees seem to be 10% +VAT, so could be quite sizable considering the damage involved.
Any and all advice/experience is welcome.
I would appoint your own loss adjuster for any significant claim.
Your parents may have legal cover that will pay for the adjuster.
My policy has a separate £30 addon which pays for me to have a loss adjuster for any claim over £5000.
You have no claim against your neighbours unless deeply negligent.
Your parents may have legal cover that will pay for the adjuster.
My policy has a separate £30 addon which pays for me to have a loss adjuster for any claim over £5000.
You have no claim against your neighbours unless deeply negligent.
10% of the value of the claim or 10% of the difference they make between the insurance companies value?
When you say the house is badly damaged how badly? Is the house still habitable? What damage was there inside?
The insurance company will fix and pay contractors direct for any physical damage to the house assuming the insurance cover is enough. The policy will depend on what they fix in the garden.
So what do you need a loss adjuster for? Damaged contents or arguing whether the amount insured is enough to pay for the damage?
Seems little point having a loss adjuster if it is just physical damage the insurance company will fix. More point of they argue your parents are uninsured or there is damage to contents.
When you say the house is badly damaged how badly? Is the house still habitable? What damage was there inside?
The insurance company will fix and pay contractors direct for any physical damage to the house assuming the insurance cover is enough. The policy will depend on what they fix in the garden.
So what do you need a loss adjuster for? Damaged contents or arguing whether the amount insured is enough to pay for the damage?
Seems little point having a loss adjuster if it is just physical damage the insurance company will fix. More point of they argue your parents are uninsured or there is damage to contents.
Thanks for the replies guys, they represent both sides of the debate. Thankfully we haven't had experience in this area before.
House isn't habitable due to smoke, and water damage. Also has some cracking. Need electric checked over as well. The fire service had to open my parents roof to chase a hot spot that traveled along at least 2 rafters. The houses are tall old terraced townhouses(possibly 150-200 years). E haven't been able to inspect the party wall properly yet. The neighbours house is a gutted shell, and unfortunately they died in the fire.
Insurance assessor that came out is a third party appointed by the insurance company. My understanding is that the fee for a public insurance assessor is 10% of overall settlement plus VAT.
We will speak with one after the weekend.
House isn't habitable due to smoke, and water damage. Also has some cracking. Need electric checked over as well. The fire service had to open my parents roof to chase a hot spot that traveled along at least 2 rafters. The houses are tall old terraced townhouses(possibly 150-200 years). E haven't been able to inspect the party wall properly yet. The neighbours house is a gutted shell, and unfortunately they died in the fire.
Insurance assessor that came out is a third party appointed by the insurance company. My understanding is that the fee for a public insurance assessor is 10% of overall settlement plus VAT.
We will speak with one after the weekend.
Edited by Jambur on Sunday 7th April 09:19
Jambur said:
Insurance assessor that came out is a third party appointed by the insurance company. My understanding is that the fee for a public insurance assessor is 10% of overall settlement plus VAT.
Have you any gut feel for what the overall claim value will be? 12% of it could be a lot of money.Jambur said:
I have no idea of the value of the claim. I'm not an engineer, have 0 experience in the field. Just reading up online and some are saying to engage with one. When I read up on them I was shocked at the fee. Really just looking to see if anyone has had prior experience.
Obviously this is a wild guess but based on your description I could easily imagine a couple of hundred £K.IIRC a member here used a loss adjuster but it was a much smaller claim - to do with garage contents and a dispute about cover levels.
Thanks guys. My parents living with us for last few days. Damage can be repaired, but at least they are ok. It could have been a hell of a lot worse
I'm going to set this aside for today and just try have everyone take a mental day off. Maybe even dream of United beating Liverpool
Enjoy your Sunday
I'm going to set this aside for today and just try have everyone take a mental day off. Maybe even dream of United beating Liverpool
Enjoy your Sunday
When you get back onto this, step one,
Get a copy of the policy wording.
I can't stress this enough. Know what is covered and is not, and be prepared to tell the insurers what that is. As it's not in their interests to tell you. eg - your parents could probably get a nice hotel stay until the building is habitable.
Many years ago, my flat was flooded-out by the upstairs, and I needed to move out...
Them - "We will pay for accommodation, but not meals."
Me - "In that case, I'll be renting an apartment with a kitchen, because I'm not paying for 3 months of restaurant food."
Them - "er, oh, er, erm, yes, that's fine."
Probably tripled the accommodation cost, but they certainly weren't going to volunteer it.
Having been through a large claim more recently, I would certainly consider appointing my own loss adjuster. With the insurer's ones - even if external\"independent", remember that you are not their customer. Same goes for insurer-appointed contractors.
Get a copy of the policy wording.
I can't stress this enough. Know what is covered and is not, and be prepared to tell the insurers what that is. As it's not in their interests to tell you. eg - your parents could probably get a nice hotel stay until the building is habitable.
Many years ago, my flat was flooded-out by the upstairs, and I needed to move out...
Them - "We will pay for accommodation, but not meals."
Me - "In that case, I'll be renting an apartment with a kitchen, because I'm not paying for 3 months of restaurant food."
Them - "er, oh, er, erm, yes, that's fine."
Probably tripled the accommodation cost, but they certainly weren't going to volunteer it.
Having been through a large claim more recently, I would certainly consider appointing my own loss adjuster. With the insurer's ones - even if external\"independent", remember that you are not their customer. Same goes for insurer-appointed contractors.
When we had a flood, due to a blocked drain in the road outside, the liss adjuster was excellent. He wanted to replace items, e.g, a vacuum cleaner, that I was happy to give a thorough clean myself.
I found the replacement sofas at a cheaper price than at the supplier suggested by the loss adjuster. The insurance company sent me a thank you letter for that.
Totally claim cost was just over £20k, including work to walls & woodwork.
I found the replacement sofas at a cheaper price than at the supplier suggested by the loss adjuster. The insurance company sent me a thank you letter for that.
Totally claim cost was just over £20k, including work to walls & woodwork.
Your parents are going to need somewhere to live. You don’t won’t them living with you for months!
So has someone has said that’s either a hotel or a rented house/flat. The issue is going to be how much of the contents is flood or smoke damaged and then whether it’s cleaned or replaced. If the latter there will be an issue of betterment and whether your parents have new for old cover.
I would expect it to be more worth having a loss assessor if there is contents damage as I assume there is.
So has someone has said that’s either a hotel or a rented house/flat. The issue is going to be how much of the contents is flood or smoke damaged and then whether it’s cleaned or replaced. If the latter there will be an issue of betterment and whether your parents have new for old cover.
I would expect it to be more worth having a loss assessor if there is contents damage as I assume there is.
I would not rush to appoint anyone - but would have their details on hand!
I have been involved in what was a major fire (big enough to hit the BBC headlines) last summer, although fortunately no one was harmed.
In mine, there are multiple insurance companies involved, along with plenty of leaseholders.
What I have seen are plenty of illogical decisions made by the insurers which may have delayed them accepting liability of costs, but have left them facing far larger costs down the line.
There have been I believe refusals of cover in some instances, but like the OP above and the kitchen, it seems that the insurance sometimes just need a justification to change their position.
Good luck as it's a horrible position to have to deal with.
I have been involved in what was a major fire (big enough to hit the BBC headlines) last summer, although fortunately no one was harmed.
In mine, there are multiple insurance companies involved, along with plenty of leaseholders.
What I have seen are plenty of illogical decisions made by the insurers which may have delayed them accepting liability of costs, but have left them facing far larger costs down the line.
There have been I believe refusals of cover in some instances, but like the OP above and the kitchen, it seems that the insurance sometimes just need a justification to change their position.
Good luck as it's a horrible position to have to deal with.
We had to claim off a plumbing co who left a loose joint on a flush fitted shower valve. Their insurer advised us to contact our own insurance, who then handled the claim in our interest, and completed all the work. They then went back to the 3rd party insurer and recovered their losses.
Your parents' insurer will need to control the claim, look after your parents' property (as the continuing insurer they need to control this to avoid future claims) and they will recover from the neighbours' insurer.
Your parents' insurer will need to control the claim, look after your parents' property (as the continuing insurer they need to control this to avoid future claims) and they will recover from the neighbours' insurer.
Edited by Paul Drawmer on Monday 8th April 06:35
Paul Drawmer said:
We had to claim off a plumbing co who left a loose joint on a flush fitted shower valve. Their insurer advised us to contact our own insurance, who then handled the claim in our interest, and completed all the work. They then went back to the 3rd party insurer and recovered their losses.
Your parents' insurer will need to control the claim, look after your parents' property (as the continuing insurer they need to control this to avoid future claims) and they will recover from the neighbours' insurer.
They may not be able to recover from the neighbours insurer. They would need to prove negligence (which would not include accidental cause).Your parents' insurer will need to control the claim, look after your parents' property (as the continuing insurer they need to control this to avoid future claims) and they will recover from the neighbours' insurer.
Edited by Paul Drawmer on Monday 8th April 06:35
Austin_Metro said:
Have a really close look at what is covered by the insurance policy. It may be you can argue that having your own representative is covered.
Also if they prefer, have your parents instruct that you can manage the claim on their behalf, or at least lead the interactions with the insurer (after all it is their policy and not yours).Keep notes of all calls and emails with the insurer with bullet point notes of what was said..
Build a dossier of all records.
Having personally dealt with the assessment, specification and management of over 50 domestic and commercial fire reinstatements including liasing with the policyholders loss adjuster along the way I would caution against using the nuclear option by appointing a loss assessor without good cause at this early stage.
Most loss adjusters these days are there to keep the policyholder content and facilitate fair management of the claim. A loss assessor is just another layer of complexity and potential antagonism and should not be necessary in a simple domestic claim.
...you will in my experience gain far more by working with your insurers adjuster rather than against them.
Most loss adjusters these days are there to keep the policyholder content and facilitate fair management of the claim. A loss assessor is just another layer of complexity and potential antagonism and should not be necessary in a simple domestic claim.
...you will in my experience gain far more by working with your insurers adjuster rather than against them.
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