Flood in kitchen - insurance company recommending we move out

[Littlecaf]

We had a burst pipe in the kitchen and the drying out & contents company (Rainbow International) are recommending the kitchen be replaced due to it being saturated. They mentioned that the insurance co. (UIA) might suggest we move out while works take place. He did say that it would be into something similar, and within 4 miles. Has anyone had any experiences?

I was flooded in December and I moved out today as the floors are all coming up and the walls are going to be hacked off. It is an opportunity to de clutter.
However that is the only positive.

The insurers paid for a van to move us into our new accommodation which is like for like. It is actually beautiful, but not home! They packed for us as well, but it still entailed a lot of sorting and packing ourselves.
We had a professional lock company come and put locks on all the doors upstairs, which the insurers also paid for. They intend to put a key safe on the front door ( shudders) so any Tom Dick or Harry can come in.
It is so unbelievably stressful but we can't stay in the house without a kitchen, neither can you.
You have my utmost sympathy.

Yep, when I had my flat the flat above burst a main pipe, took down kitchen, bathroom and box room ceilings. Insurance paid for accommodation while it was dried out and redone. They had to strip all the plaster, redo all the electrics and turned into a major refit basically. I've never seen as o much water (at 7am).

Yes. They tried to put us in a B&B but we said no as it was going to be three months. We ended up in a naice hotel for a short time then a short term rental property. It was closer to six months in the end.

Do you have a utility room? If so is it dry and unaffected by the floor?

Or a spare room? Study?

If so use that as a temp kitchen. get a combi microwave, slow cooker, toaster and kettle.

And a bbq outside (if it's dry, use it)

I was without a kitchen for 6 weeks in previous house while old one was being ripped out, some work done and replaced.

At the time DS was 1 and DD was 3.

And icing on the cake was the both the bathrooms upstairs were being completely redone. Admittedly one bathroom at the time but all whilst having no kitchen either.

It was perfectly fine. Bit messy clearly and we did eat out quite a bit.

It's amazing what you can cook with a microwave

Getting a new kitchen in is not at all comparable to the aftermath of a burst pipe or flood. We had huge drying machines running day and night for weeks. All the floors had to be ripped up. Months and months it went on for.

I wouldn't move out for a new kitchen.

Horribly stressful doesn't describe being flooded. I have had a cough since December. We have been threatened with flooding six times since then. However,the aftermath is far worse.
Dealing with insurers who pass you on to loss adjusters, who are divided up into contents of the building and the fabric of the building. Yuck.
To get through it, I am practising Mindful. I just wish I could be put into an induced coma and wake up in 10 months time.
What else can you do littlecaf it totally does your head in.
They offered us a hotel ....what a mad idea. Dealing with insurers has now gone into my room 101 list.

Oh forgot to add. Check the insurance of your personal belonging while you are out of the house.who pays? Who pays the council tax when you are out of the house. Apparently if you are the victim of flooding you get free redirection of mail for six months. We have gone for collection at the local Sorting office, which is free.
Who is paying for your removal and packing and when you return to your home?
As we are an identified flood victim we don't have to pay council tax for the duration of our being out of home for god knows how long.

Thanks all for your experiences. I don't mean to drip feed but the kitchen is open plan with the dining room and the hallway and separate lounge was flooded too. All carpets have been removed and we have dehumidifier and fans running. It's hot & dry. My just 1 yo is days away from walking and we've concrete floors! Grrrr.

Yesterday the dehumidifier people assessed the contents and reccomended scrapping most of the furniture - the surveyor for the buildings side was here too - for less that 7 minutes - totally useless - just awaiting the dreaded loss adjuster.

There's limited rental houses around here, so not sure where they'll put us! Staying optimistic about it. We'd just had the kitchen done, but quite frankly our furniture was mdf shit so that can go!

you definitely don't want to be in the propert with small children and dehums and air movers - it's not at all. I work in insurance claims and I always advise homeowners to move out as it's a hell of a lot more disruptive than people think.
Also don't dread adjusters, they're there to validate the claim and confirm costs, not to do anything else. Most will be as helpful as they can be.
I recommend before the adjuster get to you you try and identify where you want to stay (it's your choice where you go as long as it's equivalent - subject to any policy limits)
Also make a list of everything that's been damaged and try and price it up before the adjuster arrives.
Ask raindow/adjuster what the drying plan is/how long it will take - gives you an idea

• as to how long the claim is going to take to resolve.

Also write down the questions you want to ask when the adjuster visits as he will probably only be scheduled to be on site for 30 mins (they're not given time to do the job properly anymore.....

Ta unadulterated - I think we're going to wait for the reports from contents & buildings before we start panicking. DP has just said he's not moving out but he's not here all day with a nearly walking active baby. If it's anything over 2 weeks, I'd prefer to move out - but not a hotel. That would be worse!

Rainbow have said 7-10days drying but that's before the kitchen is removed. So god knows after that. Our insurers have been fine & quite helpful so far. I'll keep an open mind about the loss adjuster, that's a fair point - they are just doing their job (I hate it when people make assumptions about my job so I shouldn't do it about someone else's).

I would expect them to rip out the kitchen straight away, or it will be slowing the drying down (no point drying a kitchen that is going to be removed anyway!)
Expect it to be very disruptive for a good couple of months at a minimum.
If you ever need specific advice just PM me.

Good luck!!

Thank you unadulterated!