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Hi.

we have had a water leak under the floor, do not no the course but we contacted our insurer because we have a solid wood floor and it's started to lift.

The assessor came out to assess the damage. we have now received a mandate to give to the supplier of our new flooring who we have to choose from a home comforts magazine. however the cost of the mandate won't cover the cost of our new floor. The insurance have made no mention of the leak or repairing it, we assume it's under the floor some where. what can we do?

 

even if the mandate did cover the flooring, the damage would happen again unless the leak is found and repaired.

 

also are we obliged to use a supplier from this magazine. we want the same wood flooring not a cheaper version and we were quite happy with the work done by the local contractor who we originally got to lay the floor but they are not part of the assessors network.

 

another thing. I have been told that i have to pay the excess of £300 to the contractor who will be supplying the new floor. I am disabled so don't have a spare £300 at this time of year.

 

thanks

:x if i have been off any help to you please click my scales

 

cases won

28th July Single Claim for bank charges against LTSB, £6,800 WON with CI to date of Judgement

 

18th July Joint Claime against LTSB £7,800 WON with CI to date of Judgement.

 

 

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Hi,

 

Sorry to hear about your loss.

 

Can you answer the following -

Is your new flooring an exact match to what you had before? If not, is it better quality than what you had before?

 

The insurance company is only going to indemnify you. If you want better, then the difference in pricing is yours to make up.

 

But let's assume you tried to pick out something comparable to your old flooring. In that case, phone your claims handler and ask them to speak to the vendor, or better yet, try to convince the vendor to phone the insurance company for you to negotiate an agreed price. Tell the vendor that you would prefer to deal with them, but that you have been shopping around for other quotes.

 

If you have the time, and/or feel like the vendor is messing you about, go get some free quotes from another couple of companies. Send the quotes in to show that the flooring quote from their preferred vendor is fair. The claims handler needs this kind of evidence to increase their reserve for your claim.

 

Hope this helps!

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Hi michele.

thank you for replying.

 

we have not chosen the new flooring yet for the simple reason that the amount the insurance is offering to pay won't cover it. the floor we have down cost us near to £5000 insurance are offering £2,500. what we want is the very same flooring we already have and can still be bought. we thought the insurance would arrange for a contractor to come out and do the work so that we would not be involved however they say it does not work like that. they give us a list of suppliers in our area and we decide what we want.

 

we called one of these suppliers today and spoke to them giving them the rooms measurements. they said we have no chance of getting the same quality solid wood block flooring for the price the insurance have quoted. the said the labour alone would take 3 days to fit it plus because it has been glued down using a substance called michelin? a sort of tar stuff it's quite a big job. also the parts of the concrete floor will have to be re-leveled. also the flooring was put in before the kitchen cabinets so they too will have to be taken out. the same thing with the skirting boards as the flooring is flush with the walls under the skirting, all this could involve redecorating and i am unsure how they can move the kitchen cupboards with worktops etc as the tops have been glued into place against the tiles on the wall. It really is a big job yet i don't think the assessor has taken all this in to account. also we still have the leak under the floor. the flooring needs ripping up so we can determine what is causing it and repair it so that it does not course more damage. who's responsibility is that.

 

will the fitters who fit the floor also refit the kitchen? if not who will and who pays for it.

 

thanks michele i'm truly grateful for your advice.

 

Pen

:x if i have been off any help to you please click my scales

 

cases won

28th July Single Claim for bank charges against LTSB, £6,800 WON with CI to date of Judgement

 

18th July Joint Claime against LTSB £7,800 WON with CI to date of Judgement.

 

 

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OK. The source of the leak will not be paid by the Contents Insurers - if anything it will be paid by your Buildings Insurers. You need to contact your Building Insurers, and ask if you have trace & access. If not it is highly unlikely your insurance will provide cover for repairing the leak. The Insurance will provide cover for accidental damage - if it is an underground pipe, unless you have been hammering nails into your floor it is unlikely it will be damaged accidently, more like wear & tear / corrosion, which are not insurable perils.

 

You need to sort out the leak before relaying the floor. If you re--lay the floor and not repair the leak the Insurers will decline the next claim, and you could have some pretty hefty endorsements put on your policy next year. Usually the Insurers would ask for proof the leak has been fixed before paying for the new floor.

 

Turning to the floor get an estimate from the company that laid the original floor. If this is not possible get the Insurers company to come out & do an estimate. This could cost a few quid, but it *should be recoverrable. Make sure the estimate mentions that it is an EXACT replacement

 

The costs of replacing the units is consequential loss, so the Insurer is not liable for this, however, if your complaint went far enough they would pay a percentage of it..

 

Turning to the excess, I am afraid there is nothing you can do, if you want the exact replacement. You agreed to the £300 excess at the start of the policy, the Insurers will not budge on this.

 

I starred the should. From the information you have provided all of this claim should be dealt with by your Buildings Insurer. If your excess is less with them try your Buildings Insurer.

Abbey - owed £3260 - Paid up.

 

Barclays owed £2500 - Paid up.

 

Halifax, Mint & Egg - next on the hit list

 

Dont click on the scales - I'm quite proud of my little red dot! - As the little red dot has gone - click away!!!!

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If the contents insurers have found cover for this loss then you might as well keep dealing with them until they've truly made the situation impossible for you. Flooring is a little bit of a grey area.

 

You are always going to be responsible for your excess, of course.

 

If you want the exact same flooring as before, there should be no reason why they would not agree to this. All you need to do is make certain the evidence is on the claim handler's desk. The insurer can't arrange repairs for you as it is your choice. They can only authorise their preferred contractors to deal with you on the assumption the insurer has agreed to cover payment. For this the insurer pays less than sticker price but also has a guarantee that the repairs will be in order. It's usually a smooth process as the repairer deals directly with the insured when the authorised amount is too small to cover the bill.

 

Choosing your own repairer outside the insurer's network is fine, but keep in mind the repairs are not guaranteed so if they mess it up, the insurer is not going to pay more money to make it right.

 

You'll need to investigate whether you have trace and access cover. Some insurance policies include this but the majority do not, as far as I know. It makes perfect sense to stop the leak before you replace the floors. Hopefully the leak itself is covered, but don't count on it.

Edited by MicheleFloyd
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