Case Studies

Breach of Policy Warranty	Business Interruption	Definitions are Vital
Entitlement to Alternative Accommodation	Orchestrating a claim	Sets and Pairs Clauses

Orchestrating a Claim

A man's flat had been damaged by water from a burst pipe. His Insurers appointed one of their pet firms of contractors to assess the damage and carry out such repairs as they thought fit. After about two months, the policyholder realized that the "contractors" were little more than a telephone service which arranged for various tradesmen to attend and do whatever they themselves thought was needed. Nothing was being done in a co-ordinated manner and the work that had been done was neither supervised nor satisfactory in many respects.

The claimant was suffering hardship and no-one seemed to know what was happening nor what was supposed to be happening. In desperation he turned to us for help. Sadly his story was not new to us and we knew immediately what needed doing.

We contacted Insurers and made them aware of the problem. We insisted that they draw a line under what had been done hitherto and appoint a Surveyor (of our choosing and at their expense) to determine exactly what remedial work was needed. Once his Specification and Scope of Works was prepared and agreed with the Insurance Company's Loss Adjuster, tenders were invited from reputable contractors and the contractor who tendered the lowest price was awarded the work. He was able to start quite quickly and the job was done with a minimum of fuss and to the claimant's entire satisfaction.

Our client told us that before we were involved he had felt at times, like a bystander; but mostly like a victim of the whole proceedings. Once we came on the scene we involved him as much as he wanted to be involved, at the same time allowing him to pass to us as much of the administration of the project as suited him. We acted rather like the conductor of an orchestra making sure that the various people did what they were supposed to do and at the right time.

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