So we have had a run of bad luck recently which would have made a priest swear, and one evening, with my partner in hospital I was woken at 0100 with a noise from my back garden (no jokes please :D). I went downstairs with bombers in hand only to find my wheelie bins floating past the patio doors! Turns out a drainage system nearby had been partially blocked by debris, and also, somehow, sewerage had also got into the water and had flooded out all the houses in our row. 😥 I managed to wade through it, and move our cars to a higher street nearby, but then could only watch as the water rapidly rose. I went around alerting neighbours, and was speaking with firemen, and council workers who attended, and was convinced that the water was coming in our door. However the rain stopped and then the water started to subside about 0500. It came right up to the very edge of the door, and when standing in the living room, the floor felt a bit soft and springy, and you could hear gurgling underneath. The carpet didn’t feel wet, just cold, but turns out the floors started to warp, its flooring panels rather than old fashioned boards. We have been moved out and are waiting to get into a rental until its all dried out and the floors are all replaced etc. So after the event, I realised my garage would have been flooded too, under knee deep in water, and sure enough everything we had stored in our normally dry garage was soaked in sewerage. I spoke to the council team who were doing cleanup and spraying disinfectant all over the place the next day and they said that anything that was wet, because it was sewerage, if I pointed it out, they would dispose of it. So we went through the garage and threw out a bunch of stuff we had stored, kids buggies, tent and equipment, chairs, soft stuff like cushions, paintings etc, etc… So when I contacted the contents insurance, (Zurich) I told them I had a loss adjuster visiting that day from a main LA that they also use, and if I gave the list to him, they would try and get the job issued to them, so buildings and contents were being handled by the same adjusters. So after a bit of chasing, the LA called today, to say that he wasn’t getting the job, Zurich were just handling it themselves. I called Zurich and they say he is sending them the list I put together, but the problem is I don’t have any receipts, or even any photos of the stuff the council disposed of. Whats everyone’s experience of contents claims when you don’t have proof the stuff was damaged? It wasn’t a huge amount of money, but a lot to us 😥

I used to be a claims manager in a previous life, albeit a long time ago now

It’s not that unusual a situation actually. If you can compile a rough list of what has gone, and have any receipts, manuals, guarantees/warranty docs, even photos that have some of the items in, then a sensible insurer will be able to sort out a reasonable settlement with you.

If you don’t take the proverbial, neither should they.

Go pinnochio a little bit, you’d be mad not too.

If you want a criminal record and to help ensure all our premiums keep on going up….

Nah Its not worth that much! Everything in life just seems difficult at the moment. Loss adjuster for the buildings claim called to say that the insurer won’t pay the letting agent directly, so could I call to give them my bank details, and now they are saying they won’t get payment to me for 5 working days! My move in date is Tuesday 😥

MoreCashThanDash
to help ensure all our premiums keep on going up that the insurance companies don’t get quite as much profit….