Hi there,

Last week a water main burst in the road outside our house and flooded our ground floor.

Severn Trent Water attended and told us it was their fault and they would send people round the next day to sort it out.

A manager turned up the following day who said as it was their fault we did not have to go through our insurers but should give them a call just to let them know what happened. STW had also brought round their contractors Rainbow who proceded to remove the carpets and make a list of damage and remedial works required.

Yesterday STW sent a Loss Adjuster (Cunningham Lindsey) round who informed us that if we went through STW insurance they would only cover for indemnity which means they will not replace new for old but would only cover the cost adjusted for wear and tear. He said we could go through our insurers and the full cost would then be covered. He said it shouldn't affect our future premiums as we were not liable.

I have a number of concerns.

1) Rainbow and CL are both appointed by STW and will therefore be working on their behalf. I am concerned that we will not receive fair treatment

2) CL seem to encourage us to go through our insurers but I am suspicious we have been given the wrong advice

3) I don't see how our future premiums will not increase as we will have a claim registered against us.

4) CL have a very poor reputation for rejecting and disputing claims and I am concerned they may try this with us.

Does anyone have any advice on how to manage this and not get ripped off?

I'm very wary that we are being pushed in a direction that may not be beneficial to us. I have tried contacting both Severn Trent and CL to have this clarified in writing but I have not yet heard from them. We have contacted our insurers (NU) but as yet haven't heard from them.

Ok first off, if your own policy is 'new for old' you will be better off going through them, since STW (or their insurers) are only liable to put you back in the position you were in prior to the loss/damage.

Your own insurers will then seek to make a claim against the responsible party (STW) for their outlay, which is successful will not affect your policy.

I'd check with your own insurers first just for your own peace of mind.

Mossy

Cunningham's are one of the best adjusters out there.

In my experience they do not "have a reputation for rejecting and disputing claims". They have a reputaton for being very good as adjusters!

Remember, insurance is not an investment policy. You can only get what you've paid for!

As I told my policyholders back in the day, try to think about this as a motor claim.

A third party (STW) has damaged your property. What do you do?

You can either claim through your own insurer (and hope they recover the costs from the negligent party) or claim from the third party directly (yes i KNOW it's not always this simple an analogy!).

In your case, the third party (through their representative Cunninghams) have confirmed you will only receive an indemnity settlement.

I would therefore be inclined to recommend the use of your own insurer if they settle new for old. I would also be inclined to ask them to appoint Cunninghams to oversee the settlement of your claim.

As Mossy states, the outlays should be met by the other party. Furthermore, it's unlikely that one claim alone will have ANY affect on your premiums (contrary to popular belief).