Storm damage - they won't pay!

[pjdavies2000]

Hi all,
I have just been speaking to my mum, who had some severe storm damage in the last storm - basically it's a Victorian end terrace house that has now had part of the upper gable end blown off! She had to have emergency scaffolding put up to prevent people being hurt (and tiles hitting people!) and the assessor has been around today and basically told her that it's 'wear and tear' and that the wood was rotten so would have fallen down anyway - this is untrue as the builders that put the emergency scaffolding up said the timbers were as good as any new build house!

Can she do anything about this? How should this be done, and is this because of the insurance companies not wanting to pay out for storm damage?!!?

The insurance company is (not suprisingly) Barclays.

ANY HELP MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!:mad :

[RedDeath]

Hi,
Well first of all I am sorry to hear about your story, at a time of need this was the last thing that she needed. First of all I work for Aviva, the company that does insurance for Barclays. We take these kind of complaints really seriously, so I can send an email to a customer experience department and see if they could pick it up and see if there is anything that they can do to help. If you care to memo me your policy number I will pass this on for you. However I need to stress that I will simply do my best to help you out and can not promise a result.

Mostly though, this depends on the definition of wear and tear and the state that this was in. If it was in a bad state then unfortunately there really isn't much that you can do about it, however, if that is not the case then you may have to stand your ground. What I suggest is that you get two estimates and complain in writing to barclays. Phone them up, get their complaints address and send it by registered mail.

Best of luck with it.

[kippy2]

Originally Posted by pjdavies2000

Hi all,
I have just been speaking to my mum, who had some severe storm damage in the last storm - basically it's a Victorian end terrace house that has now had part of the upper gable end blown off! She had to have emergency scaffolding put up to prevent people being hurt (and tiles hitting people!) and the assessor has been around today and basically told her that it's 'wear and tear' and that the wood was rotten so would have fallen down anyway - this is untrue as the builders that put the emergency scaffolding up said the timbers were as good as any new build house!

Can she do anything about this? How should this be done, and is this because of the insurance companies not wanting to pay out for storm damage?!!?

The insurance company is (not suprisingly) Barclays.

ANY HELP MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!!:mad :

GET A QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT LOSS ADJUSTER to help you...ASSESSORS are not qualified in these matters and plus they are employed by barclays in this instance and will only help their insurer! ie BARCLAYS. pm me if you need more info will gladly help.

[kippy2]

Originally Posted by RedDeath

Hi,
Well first of all I am sorry to hear about your story, at a time of need this was the last thing that she needed. First of all I work for Aviva, the company that does insurance for Barclays. We take these kind of complaints really seriously, so I can send an email to a customer experience department and see if they could pick it up and see if there is anything that they can do to help. If you care to memo me your policy number I will pass this on for you. However I need to stress that I will simply do my best to help you out and can not promise a result.

Mostly though, this depends on the definition of wear and tear and the state that this was in. If it was in a bad state then unfortunately there really isn't much that you can do about it, however, if that is not the case then you may have to stand your ground. What I suggest is that you get two estimates and complain in writing to barclays. Phone them up, get their complaints address and send it by registered mail.

Best of luck with it.

you work for an insurance company. you are not qualified to assume this situation. qualified loss adjusters are. thats why insurance companies want the experience of qualified loss adjusters esp with Lloyds of london.

[RedDeath]

Kimmy, I know that i am not qualified to assume this situation. What I am offering is to pass the details on to a customer experience department, people that work with loss adjusters and this kind of situation in particular on a daily basis. At worst nothing will happen but there is a decent chance that they will at least contact the lady and get this situation moved forward. Either way yes, you will have to contact some independent loss adjustors if Barclays stick their heels.

[JonCris]

pjdavies sorry to hear of your mums problems. The assessor is wrong.

Even if there is evidence of rotting timbers they should at least repair the structure & request a contribution from you mum for 'betterment'. They should ensure that the structure is restored........after all they do have a vested interest in the property

[craigwalton]

OK.

Firstly, dont get an independant Loss Adjuster, as there are no such things. Loss Adjusters always work for the Insurance Companies.

Regarding the damage - You will need to get an independant report. The Insurance Company has done what it needs to do to satisfy its obligations. Your mum has registered a claim for storm. They have sent someone out and found that the storms were consequential to the loss, and the proximate cause (this is the main thing that has damaged your roof) is Rot. Rot is not covered by the Insurance Company.

The onus is always on the Insured to prove the loss. Barclays have seen no proof from you that the damage is covered.

If you get a builder to repair the damage and he puts the cause of damage down as storms, there will be a chance that (after a while) Barclays might offer you a contribution towards the damage, as they have evidence that the damage was partially caused by rot.

However, they will interview the builder, and from previous experince they are not too forthcoming with information - when asked what the pre damage condition of the roof they always say alright / fine!!! Barclays will have photographs of your roof too, which they will talk to the builder about.

If you get a full report that states there is not rot, or it is at a fairly early stage - not enought to damage the roof, then there is a chance that you will get a full refund (including the cost for the roofers report)

Hope this helps.

[kippy2]

you can appoint a loss adjuster to act on your behalf. i have in the past and the two adjusters argued it out,

[harrythehawk]

This is correct, Loss Adjusters are Independent Companies hired by Insurance Companies for a fee to deal with claims, generally they only report and investigate and the final decision will be with the Insurer's. An independent loss assessor can be useful to appoint yourself and are usually qualified/experienced adjusters and often the adjuster and assessor can argue things out, however you do need to go to the Insurer's with your complaint, check your Policy for information on how and where you can do this as this should be in there ?

Can you also confirm if the assessor was an "in-house" inspector or worked for an external adjusters ?

[craigwalton]

Just to let you know - I work for a Loss Adjusters, and be wary of Loss Assessors - Part of the fun of the job for us is "confusing" Loss Assessors. I do not know of one that is qualified - or if they are do not show competence for this (cue all the assessors complaining now!). They will also charge you for their service, which is NOT recoverable from the Insurance Company.

You are best off keeping us up to date on this forum - from historical threads there are a lot of qualified insurance / ex-insurance employees glad to give you advice

[harrythehawk]

Like you say Craig there are some good and bad so it would pay to check them out first and their credentials and yes they do charge you for services.

BTW I am an Underwriter so yes assessors are a natural enemy for us ...... but can sometimes be useful ..... unlike the NWNF boys !! GRRRRR !!

[Peter231156]

Just joined - new member.

Craig Walton has given the best advise so far - Loss adjusters are OK in my view and I have (in my 25 odd years og broking) yet to come across an adjuster who (although paid by the Insurer) does not err on the side of the policyholder in cases such as these - they do however become rather different animals when they smell a rat on a dodgy claim and they are usually good at that too.

This claim will not probably be settled in full - it should be one the Insurer contributes toward - if she were my client I would get her a reasonable settlement as Craig says by getting your own builder to put forward a valid statement to substantiate the cause of at least some of the damage - also check the cover - does she have accidental damage - this helps.

Lastly - if all else fails ask for an ex gratia payment - this is where you agree with the Insurer to accept the loss is not covered but pay it anyway in view of the special circumstances - its a goodwill gesture on their part and is something Insurers used to do regular years ago ...