Home Insurance Claim problem..

varney

Hi folks,

We came back from a holiday last august to find our laminate kitchen floor with blisters the size of upturned dinner plates in places. There had been torrential rain and some high winds at the time and there was internal water damage to the tongue and groove ceiling which let water pool on the floor causing these big bubbles. Two of the veluxs were leaking, and on checking the back roof there were a few slates out. Floor has started to cup a bit now and the whole thing looks terrible.

Contacted our insurer (FBD) who sent our an assesor. He pretty much told me the company would pay ( approx. 2K )for the floor to be redone, but not the roof. A relation subsequently suggested I get an independent assesor to evaluate the situation, and pursue the claim on our behalf. I duly did so and in September they took up the claim.

Despite this independent guy being great at first, I found I had to keep ringing him to get the process moving ( e.g. waited three weeks for forms from them, rang and was told they forgot to send etc ). Waited for over a month, and finally rang again to find out where it had gotten to, only to be told FBD had come back with an offer just a few minutes earlier ( hmmmm..). This was for 6k which would almost pay for the floor and having work done to the roof ( still short though...), but nothing for replacing the internal tongue and groove....He suggested putting the claim back to FBD and trying to get them to cover all the work.

That's where it's been since mid November. I have to keep chasing our independent guy to find out what's happening. He keeps telling me it's down to the guy at FBD's assessors to make a decision, and he can't seem to make any headway...

ARe FBD's assessors obliged to work within a time scale on a claim like this? IN the meantime we're having more and more trouble with leaks ( despite me putting back the slates as best I could ). Are the independents just trying to wring a bit more out of FBD and hence up their percentage? Should we just settle for what's on offer...??

Any advice would be very welcome....

varney

Just wondering has anyone got and advice to offer on this problem......Dreadful weather predicted for the coming few days and I dread to think what state the kitchen will be in.......

Thanks.

UrbanFox

You are being messed around.

Get on to FBD claims department and complain that the level of service that you are receiving is not acceptable in terms of the competence exhibited thus far by them and their assessor (offering part repairs, offering fuller repairs and so on) as well as the inordinate delays despite the fact that you have an independent assessor representing you.

Tell FBD that you want the matter resolved without any further messing or you will make a formal complaint and will consider instructing a solicitor...

Side point - Whilst your assessor does seem to have been of some use the level of service from that source has not been great. Remember that when they send you a bill for their fees !

varney

thanks for the advice.

I rang the insurance information service and they told me to complain to FBD about the apparent lack of action on their adjusters part. Did so and they contacted them. Apparently FBD have no power to make their adjusters resolve a claim, and the assessor handling ours would only agree to contact our independent guy. He wouldn't give them any details for his inaction.

I'm going to contact our independent assessor and ask him to ring the FBD adjuster. Will be interesting to see if this can be resolved.....

shaca

Having trouble myself with Insurance company. Spent morning on phone and on google. Got on to citizen information and they have a range of phone numbers and different complaints procedures that they can help deal with. I rang Insurance Information Service - 01 6761914 or 01 6761820. Got a lovely helpful guy to give me a bit of advice. It could be worth a try. He also offered to ring them for me if I needed him to. Hope this helps.

varney

Maybe if you give some more details here people can offer advice / opinions.

Ringing FBD did seem to dislodge this unhelpful adjustor acting on their behalf. He contacted my independent assessor straight away and upped the offer they had made ( only by 700euro, still doesn't meet the expenses ). I instructed our guy to request him to revisit, and for our own guy to be present, in hopes we can show him the damage. I just hope it's raining when he comes next week, as that's when things are at their worst! Really is frustrating to have leaks in a kitchen...and now one has happened above the cooker....

Will hopefully post a resolution to this one next week.....

jenzz

What they actually sent you out was a loss adjuster - He is appointed by FBD - So he is acting on their behalf not yours. His interest is in saving them money. However 5 months is not a reasonable period of time in which for him to do so .Im very interested to hear how you get on so please let me know. & good luck.

varney

Well, only just getting this sorted in the end.....I complained to FBD customer service who agreed the time lag was unacceptable. They said they'd contact their assessors on our behalf. I also told my assessor to put the pressure as we were considering changing to another company to act on our behalf.

This resulted in the FBD assessor upping the offer which did cover more of the work but still left us short. I requested another visit to fully appraise him of the actual damage and work, but he kept on telling my assessor he couldn't say when he'd be free. I contacted FBD ( on advice from the Insurance Information service ) and said I wanted to register an official complaint against this assessor and the company. The same day this guy suddenly found a free date in his appointements book.

Both assessors came out last Friday and had another look, had a chat, and the upshot is FBD ( via this assessor ) have agreed to cover the costs to do all work.....

We're waiting on the paperwork and the cheque, but FBD have this other routine where they keep back 25% of the award until all work is completed and their assessor makes an inspection. So more arsing around!

The moral of the story is stick to your guns and take it as high up the management chain as you can.....