To go ahead with cash settlement?

[lozengeoflove]

We had a leak in the kitchen, behind the dishwasher. Hot water has been escaping for god knows how long. Dishwasher was old and a bit temperamental, so it was presumed that the occasional small puddles by it were due to this.

Insurance company sent the surveyor around last week. They all agree we have a valid claim and are offering £2100 in cash settlement (minus £250 excess and VAT).

They’ve also said another option is to use their contractor. Or, if we use ours, and come across more damage, we could claim for more cash.

Had anyone had experience of this? Having never claimed on insurance before I feel quite uncertain how to proceed.

Should add the kitchen is very old and falling apart and needs to be renovated anyway. I’m afraid that once we start pulling away cupboards that it will all collapse. Oh and the surveyor has said that the subfloor near the leak is gone!

AIBU to think that the best option is to take the cash settlement in this instance?

I’d avoid a cash settlement tbh, it sounds like there could be a lot of work needed as a result of the escape of water (eg if the sun-floor damage is due to water escaping, that should be covered by your policy), while the kitchen may be falling apart, again insurers are liable for any damage caused by water (and should offer a contribution towards matching items).

I’d ask for their contractor to attend and quote for all of the work needed and go from there. Water damage is notorious unpredictable - and I’d bet my house that having agreed a cash figure with you’d, they drag their heels to pay for more damage discovered post settlement. It’ll take longer, but use their contractor.

I was a loss adjuster in a previous life, I suspect this surveyor just wants a quick settlement and knows the work is likeky to be pretty extensive.

sub-floor

Also, have they checked for wet and dry rot given water has been escaping for a long time?

Thank you, jelly. I don’t think they’ve checked for wet and dry rot. The surveyor kept asking how long the water had been escaping and when we first noticed it and said a few tunes that escape of water could be quite tricky as insurers can quibble over how long the water has been escaping and how much damage it has caused.

He was able to see that as pipe work was tucked away behind the dishwasher we had no idea it was leaking.

Would their appointed contractor only replace the cupboards damaged by the water? We are keen to take them all down and replace with new cupboards as it’s all damp, mouldy and a bit whiffy .

you can ask them to quite for replacing the whole kitchen and you’d pay for the undamaged units, though your insurers should pay a contribution towards replacing undamaged matching units. Or you can get the contractor to do all the necessary work up to the pint of supply and fit of the new units and take a cash settlement just for the replacement units and put it towards a new kitchen. My sense is they know you want to refit the kitchen and want to fob you off a bit. Even if you get their contractor to quote for all the work and negotiate a cash settlement from there, or get two quotes of your own for the work and ask for a cash figure based on what the work will cost - the £2,100 figure will have been plucked from the air and sounds woefully low for the potential damage.

That’s very useful advice jelly, thank you so much.
In your experience, how long does it take for the insurer’s own contractor to start and then complete works, once the claim has been validated?

We took a cash settlement after a bathroom leak. They offered 3k. Ended up costing us £700 in total to repair and put right so it was the best decision for us

we had a burst hot water pipe underground (under a solid kitchen floor), which had been rising up walls for a while. We kept getting advisers in but they were all taking about external water ingress.

In the end we realised we had an underground leak, because the hot water was cooling quickly, and my wife realised the water kept filling. It cost a lot in increased water charges.

We had to reroute the pipes above ground to isolate the leak, and redecorate. The insurance gave us a contribution that didn't cover the full costs, but we didn't want to actually locate the exact point of the leak, and accepted the payout.

That’s a how long is a piece of string question tbh, depends on the contractor, their service agreement with insurers, what else they’ve got on etc - much the same as any other contractor. Sometimes it can work out better to take the cash, especially if you’re able to do the work yourself or have a reliable, cheap contractor on hand. The thing that’s making me suggest you think twice in your case is that the surveyor thinks the subfloor has collapsed, that could be complex and costly to put right and you won’t know until the floor comes up.

gth luckily we saw where the water was coming from, and have been able to stop it.

florence that worked out so well for you. The damage here is definitely going to take more than the offered sum to fix.

jelly I totally understand. It’s the unknown that’s worrying us too.

Just thinking now about how best to approach it with the claims dept tomorrow.

In your shoes I’d just say that having thought about it, you’d prefer to have a couple of quotes for the work and have the subfloor properly checked before agreeing settlement because you’re worried about the possibility of hidden damage and rot. They might try to persuade you out of it, in which case I’d ask them to provide a full breakdown of their cash offer and give it to your own contractor to check. Btw, why was their offer less VAT?

I have absolutely no idea.
Will email them and see what they say.