Davies Group - painfully slow home insurance claim

[far20]

Apologies if this appears more than once as I cannot seem to get the hang of finding the correct section to post to let alone having my post published, so if this appears as a duplicate, my apologies.

 

Hello

I have had an incredibly difficult time dealing with the insurance loss adjusters (Davies Group) for my claim. It has been a year now and relates to escape of water in my home.

 

My question is this; the adjuster required me to supply 3 quotes one of which had to be from their own approved builder. Their builder declined to quote, and I nonetheless supplied the 3 quotes to the adjuster. The Adjuster eventually got back insisting that their own builder supply a quote. We asked them again and this time they did supply a quote. Since the adjuster already saw my builders quotes how can we be sure that there wasn't any collusion between adjuster and their own builders with regard to their bid.

Secondly, since the adjuster will only take the lowest bid, what is the point of me getting quotes from my builders when an insurance builder will always come up with the lowest quote.

 

Thank you

[unclebulgaria67]

The Insurers will obviously ensure that they get the works done as cheap as possible. But at the end of the day the work has to be done, so that the house is put back to the way it was prior to the claim event.

 

If Davies groups own contractor does come up with a cheaper quote, ask for a copy of the quote confirming the scope of the works they will be doing and what materials will be used. Then compare this with the other quotes obtained. What csn sometimes happen is that the Insurers contractor will try to get away with using cheaper materials, which are not of the same quality, as those that were damaged. This is obviously wrong and the only difference should be the labour rate. If the Insurers contractor is willing to work for a cheaper rate, then it is your choice whether you trust them or you pay the difference to use the contractor of your choice.

 

There have been similar complaints on here before about Davies group. If you are not happy being messed around, you should make a formal complaint to the Insurers you have the policy with.

[citizenB]

Pleased to see you found the right spot

[TSx]

Insurance contractors will almost always work to a 'schedule of rates' - this is a preagreed figure for a specific element of work, regardless of the actual job.

 

As an example, they might pay a fixed cost of £400 per room to dry a property out, including hire of dehumidifers, collection, readings visits etc, whilst your contractor may charge £75/week for the hire, and another £50 per monitoring visit - for a quick job, clearly the local contractor will be cheaper but for a long drawn out job, their insurance contractor will be cheaper. For removing and refitting a kitchen unit, they might pay £112.74 regardless of if it's awkward to remove.

 

On some jobs, the insurance contractor will be cheaper, on others, a local contractor will be cheaper. Ultimately, if the insurance contractor is willing to undercut your own quotes (and has seen them), it makes no difference. That is the price that they can get the work carried out for.

 

As UncleBulgaria has said, they should be able to supply an uncosted scope of works for you to ensure they are quoting for the same thing. There are certainly benefits of using an insurance contractor - you have the protection of the final ombudsman should anything go wrong later on, for start.

[far20]

A schedule of works was drawn up by my surveyor and this was given to all the builders that quoted including the insurance company builder.

 

How about the fact that the adjuster saw the bids from my builders before the his builders actually provided a quote. Would there not have been some collusion between the two parties thus ensuring that the insurance builder quote was the lowest? Can I go somewhere with this?

 

The Insurers will obviously ensure that they get the works done as cheap as possible. But at the end of the day the work has to be done, so that the house is put back to the way it was prior to the claim event.

 

If Davies groups own contractor does come up with a cheaper quote, ask for a copy of the quote confirming the scope of the works they will be doing and what materials will be used. Then compare this with the other quotes obtained. What csn sometimes happen is that the Insurers contractor will try to get away with using cheaper materials, which are not of the same quality, as those that were damaged. This is obviously wrong and the only difference should be the labour rate. If the Insurers contractor is willing to work for a cheaper rate, then it is your choice whether you trust them or you pay the difference to use the contractor of your choice.

 

There have been similar complaints on here before about Davies group. If you are not happy being messed around, you should make a formal complaint to the Insurers you have the policy with.

[TSx]

How about the fact that the adjuster saw the bids from my builders before the his builders actually provided a quote. Would there not have been some collusion between the two parties thus ensuring that the insurance builder quote was the lowest? Can I go somewhere with this?

 

No... you could go back to your builder and say the insurance company will do it for £x - will you reduce your price to match? which is no different.

 

Edit: my number one tip to speed up a claim with a loss adjuster is to politely hassle the insurer (not the loss adjuster) frequently. If you're waiting for a callback, ring the insurer daily until you get it - and if they tell you to speak to the loss adjuster, say you've tried that and it's not working. They should be taking ultimate responsibility.

[unclebulgaria67]

No... you could go back to your builder and say the insurance company will do it for £x - will you reduce your price to match? which is no different.

 

Edit: my number one tip to speed up a claim with a loss adjuster is to politely hassle the insurer (not the loss adjuster) frequently. If you're waiting for a callback, ring the insurer daily until you get it - and if they tell you to speak to the loss adjuster, say you've tried that and it's not working. They should be taking ultimate responsibility.

 

That is really the best advice. Hassle your Insurance company and you are quite likely to achieve an outcome you are happy with.

[far20]

Thank you so much for all your replies they are very helpful indeed.

 

It seems from reading in this forum that the quality of work by insurance builders is questionable. Is there anything I can do to verify the quality of the work of this particular insurance builder. I would never dream of using a builder for this major re-instatement work without checking references. What rights do I have with regard to assessing the insurance builder's competency?

[stu007]

Hi far20

 

Could you confirm you are in the UK?

[far20]

Home is in the UK, but I am abroad right now.

[stu007]

[unclebulgaria67]

Thank you so much for all your replies they are very helpful indeed.

 

It seems from reading in this forum that the quality of work by insurance builders is questionable. Is there anything I can do to verify the quality of the work of this particular insurance builder. I would never dream of using a builder for this major re-instatement work without checking references. What rights do I have with regard to assessing the insurance builder's competency?

 

You have full rights against your Insurers to make sure the work is done properly. If the contractor failed, the Insurers would have to pay the relevant sum to get the work done to the right standard.

 

You could ask for the contractors full details and make your own checks. I doubt the Davies group would supply references from satisfied customers unless they were available already.

 

It is your house and you can do what you want, but the budget for the works is the cheapest quote obtained. A member of my family had a large water damage claim, they wanted their own contractors, so they obtained cash payments from the Insurers to pay for materials and to pay contractors. If your Insurers agree to similar, it would be your responsibility and you have no comeback on Insurers if works went wrong.

[steffijo]

Hi, new to this site as I'm trying to help my mum and her 9 month battle with Saga and Davies loss adjusters. Is there anybody still on here for advice please . Thank you Stephanie:)was reading posts from 2012 re having the right to ask your insurers for a new loss adjust company?

Any advice greatly appreciated

[stu007]

Hi steffijo

 

Could you please start you own thread rather than ask on someone elses thread.

 

This way you will get the help required to assist you in your issue.

 

If unsure how to start a new thread See Below.

[PhileasFogg]

I am also suffering at the hands of Davies Group after four and a half months. They workers employed nice guys to a man but don't let em in the house. Today i have been told by the loss adjuster, "you just want to compalin about everything." Damn right i do when the catalogue of errors never ends, the work is sub standard, and everyone promises the earth but in actual fact does next to nothing. How they maintain business is worrying, cheap labour, cheap materials, and no customer service.