I didn't know who else to ask, advice needed re insurance claim and baby's safety

[Pigsmummy]

I am v upset about this and thought that you might be able to give me advice or have been in a similar situation. I live with my husband, 1 year old son and a cat.

Five weeks ago an incident happened at home, causing water damage, I contacted my insurers (who I use for everything, home, car and pet!) and they advised that I needed to fix the leak and then we would be covered for "restoring the property to how it was before", I did everything, have had several people visit and zero work has taken place.

Anyhow one of the visits was from a drying company who confirmed that the floor would need to be taken up, plaster taken off walls, dehumidifiers, fans and heaters would need to run for upto four weeks (24 hours a day) and our belongings put in storage. Then three plus weeks for new flooring, plastering and decoration. I have asked about alternative accommodation and the loss adjuster who came out a week ago asked me to try to find details of a local short term let (3 months) from local estate agents (there are no holiday let self catering accomadation in the town), which I did and they range from £1350 - £2500 PCM (the cheapest is fine).

Today I am told that alternative accomadation won't be covered due to the fact that we can technically sleep in the property, use the kitchen and down stairs bathroom. This is even though the ground floor will be up, leaving a concrete screed that is damaged, broken up, of sand like quality in place due to water damage. The fact that there will be no furniture downstairs, big loud equipment running and building work, all with baby at home. I haven't the money to pay the rents quoted, I have just returned from maternity leave and savings are depleted, nearest family are hundreds of miles away and I have 4 days annual leave until April. What can I do? Any advice? Cried a lot today on the phone to the insurers.

I know someone who had the exact same problem with LV. I hate to say it but they were a nightmare. They did eventually pay out for accommodation but it involved complaining and taking it to the top. They were out of their house for over a year. It should have been much less but LV missed up. Ended up living in a 4 star hotel for about 8 weeks then. Work should have been done by then but wasn't so ended up going on holiday for 3 weeks abroad. It was the school holidays so a 4 star hotel in the middle of nowhere wasn't exactly ideal for children hence why they went abroad. The work still wasn't done when they got bAck so moved into rented accommodation. All of this was courtesy of LV but it took a real fight to get them to pay. I still don't think they have paid compensation and this is something the person is pursuing still. It was all a complete nightmare. All I can advise is complain repeatedly and go straight to the top.

Just done a quick Google.

This shows a few LV email addresses for format of email: www.lead411.com/company_LiverpoolVictoria_1946448.html

The CEOs name is Mike Rogers www.lv.com/about-us/company-information/corporate-governance/our-board

Try drafting an email address to him with the format of the email address in the first link. I've used this method when contacting BT and a couple of other companies as well and it has worked. Usually a secretary will come back to you and sort the problem.

Good luck!

Pigsmummy - yes we did have insurance. It doesn't cover you for repairs. It covers you for the damage after the event. Our leak couldn't be repaired because they couldn't cut off our water at street level.

But bearing in mind our monthly premium was £22 and the damage ran into thousands, I could kind of understand it.

We got a new kitchen, new dining room floor, new hall and stairs carpet and redecoration throughout - for our excess and some extras - but it was less than £1k. Our kitchen did need replacing so it was kind of opportune in a way.

But it was more to do with I had a sibling and parent ill with cancer at the time and I had been horribly stressed in the lead up to it. So I just refused to be stressed by it. I didn't chase, I didn't argue, I just waited for it to happen and eventually it did.

Where I live a lot of the houses were built in the fourties and fifties and a lot of them have encountered similar leaks. They always say it will be a month or two but it's more often than not six to eight months before you're straight again. IME the chances of them putting you up in alternative accommodation for that length of time, for a £22 a month premium, unless you really need it ie asbestos is found, are minimal.

Bolderdash we pay way more a month than that per month. We have building and contents (plus car and pet). We didn't need a new floor before.

The craic, furniture will be in storage so we won't even have anywhere to sit.

Thanks for the links and email addresses, will go into battle today. My child has had a really bad cough and last night we realised that it was worse if we left the bedroom door open so I am concerned about air quality.
Five weeks have gone by since the incident and no work has taken place.

I hope you do find a way. It must be very difficult with a baby.

I think you have to be really firm with them and very persistent. Good luck!

We had 2 large water escapes in 6 weeks. The first time we stuck it out in our apartment, the second time it happened we where moved to a short term let.

The noise from the fans/dehumidifiers is horrendous. To have them on24 hours a day, it wasa relief to escape the apartment.

Get your loss adjuster to visit you with the fans ect on full blast. How they can think you can live like that as a couple with a small child is beyond me.

I would threaten them with the press.

I would also be telling them that if your baby is injured or ill as a result of the dust/concrete/fans etc that you will be suing their sorry asses for every penny you can get.

While I sympathise (and I do) if it's classed as habitable then it's not their fault it doesn't suit your circumstances.

The claim must be with loss adjusters? These might be a different company than your insurers.
I would try several things:

• appeal to the loss adjuster on the grounds that it is damaging to the health and well being of your child if you stay in the house (which it may well be - dust in the air, sleep disturbance, can't use the kitchen etc)
• go to your doctor and ask if they would be prepared to write a letter stating that the dust could be harmful for your son as he has a cough
• in fact I would go and take your sons cough to the attention of the doctor anyway - provides more weight to your argument with the insurers.
• if the above has no effect, ask for a second opinion by a different loss adjuster. Ask for them to come out to the house.
• if all this fails - and document every conversation and action - go to the insurance ombudsmen and lodge a complaint.

Good luck! My house flooded 18 months ago - I know how stressful it is dealing with the insurers!

We had a massive flood and had to move out for 6 months but were told that the reason we moved out was because there was no usable kitchen, if it hadn't been for that then they would have made us stay. As it was we lived in the house for 4 weeks with no kitchen, and for the first week no water or electrics downstairs (!) whilst things were organised.

Once the ground floor was emptied and the floors ripped up we got some old borrowed crappy furniture and big cushions so that we could use the living room to sit and watch TV. We kept our shoes on indoors so we could walk around the destroyed floors.

I have two children, one of whom is severely disabled and it made precisely no difference whatsoever to the insurance company - it is all in black and white and there is no way of hurrying things up that I could see I'm afraid. You will have to find your own way of making things work.

Remember that for a long time there will be nothing happening in the house except the dehumidifiers working to dry the place out so you can get by perfectly well. You even get used to the noise and can turn them off if you need to for a short time.

Believe me this was the most horrific time of my life, I can't describe the horror of what we went through but then we lost everything we owned on the ground floor it was all ruined, and frankly moving out then back in again didn't help the stress. Also, there is a lot to be said for being in the house while repairs are done so you can keep an eye on things. When restoration finally started I was there almost everyday and it was really hard to keep on top of it all.

You could suggest to the LA that just putting the furniture in the undamaged rooms would offset the cost of the alternative accommodation. Also putting in writing that your child has already developed "asthma like" symptoms due to the dehumidifiers and drying process has worked for me in the past in a similar situation!

Ultimately the adjuster is trying to keep costs as low as possible for underwriters. Showing them that they can do this by offsetting costs or speeding the contract up is the way to go. Also don't forget to dangle the baby thing as well! If it were me adjusting I'd just play it safe and get you out for three months like, but I'm not sure what LV are like to deal with.

Don't forget to claim for your electricity usage as well from the dehumidifiers- the builders should have a calculator to help you work this out.

rightyho, spoke to several people today and slighty more hopeful about situation, if I don't get any joy with irons in fire I will complain to Mike Rogers at LV, (thanks for PM).

Health visitor was brilliant, she has visited the house previously and will write a report about genuine concerns she has for baby, the issue is the house layout, its very open plan, open stairs go off the living room, kitchen off living room, with no door and bathroom off kitchen, two bedrooms upstairs, directly above living room, (no upstairs bathroom), so there isnt a way to live in a room and close a door on this. The air quality for a baby with a known recent chest infection was a genuine concern for her before issues about potential injury and injesting building mataerials (being a babypicks up everything and puts it in mouth).

Fingers crossed that the HV report will sway LV, if not complaint next, I am not being greedy, the cheapest rental property would be fine, I just genuinely don't know how we can keep our baby safe in this house during this work, if it were my last house no problem, could have accessed upstairs, kitchen and bathroom via hall but not here.

Hopefully the HV report should do it - that is great. If not I think the insurers are on a sticky wicket legally as they would be putting your LO at risk if you were not provided with alternative accommodation. Good luck - let us know how you go on. Sometimes with insurers you really have to push for what is required.

Health visitor won't advise or write anything on just my say so but has engaged environmental health and she is coming around to the house. I have asked for a copy of the drying report to run through this with her. I really want her to just document her concerns for health and safety for baby.

Update, health visitor spoke to my babies GP who straight away wrote us a letter and called up asking after baby as the cough is ongoing. We sent the letter to the loss adjuster who have arranged for us to move into rented accommodation for 3 months, cat too. I was so relieved that I cried, will move next week on a day that baby is in nursery. Our furniture on the ground floor is going into storage and we will lock the two bedrooms upstairs.

Thank you for your help Mumsnet

YAY!!!!

Brilliant news!

Excellent news!

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