Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Hello everyone I've just joined the forum. Much of my house was destroyed due to a burst pipe in the loft just before Christmas, and I'm struggling to find suitable tradesmen to help get it back to being habitable again. The insurance company are being no help whatsoever and I'm trying to learn as much as possible about the work that's needed, so that I can hopefully get things moving in the right direction and get back into my house soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Welcome, sorry to hear about your house. In your situation I would be tempted to contact a general builder/multi trade contractor as it will likely need a lot of programming of multiple trades to carry out the work, I would imagine, having not seen the damage, it will be a strip out, plaster/plasterboard from ceilings removed, flooring removed, depends on age of construction walls may or may not be OK, insulation could be soaked. Trying to manage that on your own if your not familiar with this stuff would be a bit of a nightmare for you and could cost time. We currently have a good crew of guys doing some work on a build for my parents that I was doing for them, but I became too busy with work, it started out as a bit of joinery and plumbing to get things moving on faster and a plasterer/tiler/painter who will also do other bits like finishing plasterboard etc., between the 3 of them they are doing everything we throw at them and taking it in their stride. A little team of guys like that and you would be sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Pollyanna said: insurance company are being no help whatsoever Can we assume they will pick up the bill once you agree the works. If so it seems odd that they are not fully engaged as it could run way with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Have your insurance company accepted their liability for the costs? Check the policy and see if professional fees are also covered. If so, look at getting a building surveyor to assess what needs to be done and advise on how best to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 14 minutes ago, MikeSharp01 said: Can we assume they will pick up the bill once you agree the works. If so it seems odd that they are not fully engaged as it could run way with them. They have offered me a cash settlement figure which is inadequate to cover all of the work required. I have not accepted the settlement. I have obtained one quote from a multi-trade contractor which is about 3 times the size of the cash settlement. I'm trying to focus now on getting genuine contractors to quote and carry out the work at a fair (uninflated) price, then I will be happy to argue with the insurers about the costs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 2 hours ago, Carrerahill said: Welcome, sorry to hear about your house. In your situation I would be tempted to contact a general builder/multi trade contractor as it will likely need a lot of programming of multiple trades to carry out the work, I would imagine, having not seen the damage, it will be a strip out, plaster/plasterboard from ceilings removed, flooring removed, depends on age of construction walls may or may not be OK, insulation could be soaked. Trying to manage that on your own if your not familiar with this stuff would be a bit of a nightmare for you and could cost time. We currently have a good crew of guys doing some work on a build for my parents that I was doing for them, but I became too busy with work, it started out as a bit of joinery and plumbing to get things moving on faster and a plasterer/tiler/painter who will also do other bits like finishing plasterboard etc., between the 3 of them they are doing everything we throw at them and taking it in their stride. A little team of guys like that and you would be sorted. Yes your assessment of the damage sounds about right. It seems I've no choice but to try and manage it on my own. Your 'team of guys' sounds like a dream team! Just what I'm looking for, but how to find genuine capable people? I'm in central Scotland. I've had no luck so far, 4 months down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 7 minutes ago, Pollyanna said: They have offered me a cash settlement figure which is inadequate to cover all of the work required. I have not accepted the settlement. I have obtained one quote from a multi-trade contractor which is about 3 times the size of the cash settlement. I'm trying to focus now on getting genuine contractors to quote and carry out the work at a fair (uninflated) price, then I will be happy to argue with the insurers about the costs. Another possibility is a Quantity Surveyor but you would have to pay them to work out the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, Mr Punter said: Have your insurance company accepted their liability for the costs? Check the policy and see if professional fees are also covered. If so, look at getting a building surveyor to assess what needs to be done and advise on how best to do it. The insurance company are being very difficult. They say they only have to pay me what it would cost them to get the work done by their preferred contractors. I had bad experiences with these guys in the early days so they were taken off the job. Now it's down to me to find someone myself. The insurers are adamant that they don't cover professional fees, however I did have a building surveyor out about four weeks ago but he has let me down as well. No sign of any report, and when I ask about it he gives evasive answers so I don't expect to hear any more from him. His behaviour when he came to the house was bizarre to be honest. I approached another surveyor but he didn't reply. No one seems to want to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 There are professional loss adjustment companies out there who can manage your claim for you to make sure you get a fair payment but it seems you have already agreed a payment and work started then stopped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 Just now, Kelvin said: There are professional loss adjustment companies out there who can manage your claim for you to make sure you get a fair payment but it seems you have already agreed a payment and work started then stopped? No I haven't agreed the payment. I'm disputing the payment. No work has been started, just a little bit of stripping out here and there which is incomplete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 I misunderstood your comment about their preferred contractor being taken off the job. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 There are companies that specialise in insurance reinstatement. Have you searched for those? e.g. https://sdm.group/who-we-help/ I have no knowledge of this company it’s just an example of what I mean. Covers Scotland. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 Just now, Kelvin said: There are companies that specialise in insurance reinstatement. Have you searched for those? e.g. https://sdm.group/who-we-help/ I have no knowledge of this company it’s just an example of what I mean. Covers Scotland. Hi yep the company that quoted me a fortune was a reinstatement specialist. The insurers have thrown their quote out as being way over the top. Thanks for that link, I'll check them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Yes it’s all a bit of a game. Some insurance reinstatement companies charge over the odds whereas insurers want to pay bottom dollar. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 I suggest that you get a decent loss assessor on board. Check them out carefully and look at reviews. They will deal directly with the insurers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canski Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 I had this at my mothers house a few years ago. I got some quotes in from builders I knew but they couldn't get anywhere near what the insurance companies' contractors were quoting. I couldn't understand how they did it so cheap. Not a bad job either. I hope you get someone sorted soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 1 minute ago, Mr Punter said: I suggest that you get a decent loss assessor on board. Check them out carefully and look at reviews. They will deal directly with the insurers. I was advised by the chap who came out from the reinstatement company to ask the insurers to pay for me to have a loss assessor, but they refused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Many contractors decline insurance work, because payments can be very slow. Therefore those who accept it quite reasonably charge more for the delays and risk and hassles. Insurers know this. Also this is the sort of work that can have nasty surprises for the contractor. Again they will add for the risk. Insurers know this too. 3 x their offer is probably about right. But we don't know the extent of works of course! The insurer is probably chancing their arm on a cash offer, and it won't take much to convince them it is unacceptable. Some insurers spend more money on resisting claims than in pay-outs. But they don't want to have a formal complaint to resist. I would write again and say that you have taken advice etc....you don't have to say where. Give them a deadline as their delay is forcing you to live in...'insert own term.' Ask them what is the next step in a complaint process if they don't agree. (Perhaps accept a cash offer of 3 x the current one, and then contractors can get paid direct by you.) perhaps even offer a lump sum settlement of 4 x theirs, and negotiate down to 3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Was the insurance direct with the company, or through a broker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 10 minutes ago, saveasteading said: Was the insurance direct with the company, or through a broker? The policy is with M&S Insurance, obviously underwritten by one of the major insurance companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saveasteading Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 4 minutes ago, Pollyanna said: with M&S Insurance, And did you go through them or direct to the underwriter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 Don't settle for a low figure and don't underestimate the amount of work needed to properly rectify this. I have worked on 2 similar jobs and both were stripped back to a completely bare shell of a building, properly dried out for some time with big dehumidifiers and then rebuilt. It is not a trivial job so don't let them fob you off. with a low settlement to fix yourself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 45 minutes ago, Pollyanna said: I was advised by the chap who came out from the reinstatement company to ask the insurers to pay for me to have a loss assessor, but they refused. You need to keep at them as they are trained to start with no and keep saying until the customer gives up. You need to not give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 42 minutes ago, saveasteading said: And did you go through them or direct to the underwriter? M&S just refer me to the underwriter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollyanna Posted April 13, 2023 Author Share Posted April 13, 2023 18 minutes ago, Kelvin said: You need to keep at them as they are trained to start with no and keep saying until the customer gives up. You need to not give up. I'm not giving up, but I've been banging my head against a wall for 4 months now and my mental health is suffering. Some days it just feels hopeless, and I don't know where to go from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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