First ever claim on contents insurance..help..

[ToomanynewyearsROSElutions]

had my own house(s) for 10 years now albeit diff ins companies..this house been in 18 months, had same ins all this time.

ot two huge sofa's which we got in the house but obv we cant actually move now as now we've tried too we've scuffed/torn the leahter on both of them on the backs/arms etc.

Just rang ins company, got passed pilla to post a bit(expected!)..gave all details and told the action team will call me within 24 hours to got hrough it all again and let me know what action they will take?!...now as this IS accidental damage and i took out the extra cover for this and as my policy is new for old, i would not be ahppy to accept a repair(plus the sofas were bought about 2 years ago now and as theyre leather colour will have faded and are not available anymore so a match would be nigh on impossible i would say?)...soooooo...when they ring me back how to i ensure its not a repair i get and how can i be firm and get what i want when im a wuss?..never made a claim and im guessing all this faffing about is to put you off, but im not backing down, i just need to balls and to make sure i know im in the right!..anyone help?

Scuffed or torn leather may be put down to wear and tear and therefore not covered. If I am reading your post correct, any you saying just by moving the sofa in your living room you have scuffed and torn it?

Most insurers offer new for old in the event of a claim but the claim has to be valid. However if an item can be repaired economically they will always go with this option and the "new for old" doesnt over-ride this.

New for old simply means if your 20 year old tv breaks they wont try and source a 20 year old tv but give you a new one. Also certain items like clothing, bedding etc are excluded from this section but your policy booklet will confirm what is exlcuded.

Wait and see what your insurers say but they can insist on a repair or a cheque equivalent to the repair amount rather than simply supply you with new sofas.

We were moving the sofa from back room to front room, when moved in, back rrom has double french doors so no prob, to get them to front room you have to get them out of the first internal door, through the narrow hallway and back in the doorway to front room, the problem was doorways and lack of manouverable room in hallway, we just couldnt move them the right way to get them through twisting and edging until we almost got it but they had to be forced, meaning the leather on sides touching door frame were either torn or scuffed down to the wood inside..looks terrible on what was a lovely sofa(or rather two sofa's) we got the smaller sofas in playroom no bother as theyre modular and singles.

i think if they wanted to repair it they would have to ave both suites fully recovered as theyre 2 yr old now and being lether have faded in areas where sunlight is, not a mess, just natural colouring so new repaired parts would stick out like a sore thumb.

I guess that you may need to look at whether the damage will in fact be considered to be accidental, or whether a reasonable person might have been able to anticipate that the sofas would get damaged if forced thorugh the doors? Might be worth checking the wording of your policy before they call back?

cant find a is/is not included booklet?..we always keep our info together..all i can see is sheet which says "new for old" and also "we cover accidental damage-even if damage is caused by minded child"..nothing about what you can/cant claim for????

thing is, although this wont interest them, we had this same house three roads away 2 year ago when we bought this sofa and got it in/out fine..now obv the dimensions MUST be slightly different now(either that or we are dimmer and couldnt work out the right way to move it), so we didnt think there would be a problem?

right!, dont know how i missed it!..its not a booklet, it a bloody great folder or do's and dont's ..........its does seem it IS covered, its not wear and tear(i havent ripped it due to excessive sitting on it) and would neevr have thouhgt we wouldnt get it through after having same house and having no prob at all?...will just have to wait and see what they say i guess.

Well it is definitely worth explaining why you thought that it would fit I think. And of course it is reasonable to ensure that you get a repair/replacement that you are happy with.

ok, hopefully theyll call me today and i can find out, will be gutted if not as i cant get a new one myself and will be pretty peed of about insurance if they say no as ive paid religiously for 10 years with no claims..this was accidental damage, so i would think(thats me though?) it should be replaced or if not then a full re cover to ensure it doesnt look different?

hi, insurance company are ringing in 1/2 hour, do they normally od this?, they said they will spend an HOUR! gtting the details then decide if they need to send someone out?????...am cacking myself and im telling th truth!, god knows how people put claims in allt he time!...i know theyll try and talk me into saying oh yes madam, i actually slashed the sofas with penknifes out of boredom!

Insurance companies get a lot of fraudulant claims so have to protect themselves. You'll be surprised at how many "accidents" people can have when they fancy a new carpet etc.

As long as you answer honestly, they will decide whether or not a loss adjuster visit is needed or whether they will just proceed as normal.

To my mind it isn't accidental damage (in the same way as dropping something) as such but may well depend on wording of policy. Did you damage both in the same way ?

yeah, we got first one through albiet torn but thought we'd sussed which angle to get last one in, plus we couldnt have left it in playrioom as other sofas already in there and first one already in ffront room..no space in playrrom to move neevr mind play..we did try and slide plastic between door frame and sofa, but as we pushed it kept slipping away, neither use nor orninment!

anyway, he took my details..TWICE once to hear, once to note down, both times recorded..to check for inconsistnacies i guess!
i now have to fill out a claim form he is sending me, take pics of the damage and what else was damaged(door frame, spindles in hall etc) and post back, once he recieves it, he will let me know within 5 days what is happening!..phew..well thats done, lets just hope they replace them for us, otherwise that £30 a month for last 10 years down the drain and £1400 for new sofa's on the neevr never for us!

oh and didnt say anything about loss adjuster?, just this claim form with photo's??

I've worked in insurance for many years and do think they may give you a hard time over this claim - particularly as both got damaged the same way. They may try and argue you should have left the other knowing there was a high risk it would get damaged.

Once they get the pics they will assess if they think the damage was accidental or could have been avoided.

In the true sense of the word it wasnt an accident, ie you didnt knock paint over whilst decorating or spill wine on the carpet etc. As the moving of the sofas was planned and internally only (ie you werent moving house) they may state accidental damage doesnt apply.

thanks for that, at least im prepared when they get back??