Insurance problems.

[Angislot]

should one accept the offer of a loss adjuster as a matter of course or not?
the long and short of it is, that my son has had his caravan stolen and it was insured new for old basis. it was insured for £20'000. It was stolen in August and the loss adjusters, have, after much effort on our part sending letters back and forth, sent a letter stating that they can offer a cash settlement of £16990 for the caravan .
His caravan is no longer made but was a 6 berth fixed bunk caravan .
I thought that was a little low so called the company that the loss adjusters have used as a guide and they say this is way too low and it s actually £19000. I have contacted several other companies and the lowest price i could get was £18545. Have they made the £1500-2000 difference because he is having a cash settlement? is this fair, if thats the case? He would like to buy his own caravan as his family situation has since changed and a six berth is too big for him and after all, he did insure it new for old at £20000.
It has taken over 10 weeks thus far and so he is fed up with it all now anyway and feels that the loss adjuster is being awkward with him (lots of little niggles with them)
thanks

 

[TD42]

You have probably tried but if not explain to the insurers that he would like to accept a different layout van to the value of the one stolen . It would seem to be the norm for them to offer a lower payout in cash settlement deals if they still refuse I would try using a solicitor from your house insurance policy

 

[RogerL]

The insured value is only relevant if it's under-insured - if its over-insured you don't get more back than the new-for-old value - and similarly without new-for-old

If you buy a replacement caravan, you'll have no trade-in, so likely to be able to negotiate a huge discount - I'd be looking at 10-15% with trade-in, higher without trade-in - so £16,990 for a £20,000 caravan sounds about right.

 

[Angislot]

So far it has taken 11 weeks too-ing and fro-ing, initially trying to be fobbed off with market value. The loss adjuster has been somewhat awkward, to say the least. I have neve heard of any simple insurance claim taking so long, its ridiculous. he has missed 2 booked breaks as a result of this and look to miss another soon by the looks of it and finding it difficult being civil with them.. he has refused the offer and await their response. (Wont hold breath tho )

 

[RogerL]

I'm guessing it's not insured through the Caravan Club ?

 

[Angislot]

No Roger, its not, but It seems it is the Loss Adjuster who is being difficult, not the Insurance company. It was all going well until they got the paperwork and then it went to pot
I do NOT want to slate the Insurers, They are a reputable company but I may have to name and shame the Loss adjuster if he continues to be awkward. I wonder how he would feel if he were the injured party?
Im pretty sure caravan club use the same Loss adjuster though.

 

[Angislot]

Looks like we have no choice but to accept this guys 'offer', no room for negotiation!
this is his response to us saying that i think the offer is too low.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Looks like we have no choice but to accept this guys 'offer', no room for negotiation!
this is his response to us saying that i think the offer is too low.

Hello Angislot.
You do not have accept the loss adjusters suggestion, but you need to read the insurers terms and conditions to find out how the challenge the assessment. If you exhaust the companies appeals procedure you can take your case to the insurance ombudsman. However there are no guarantees of getting the assessment raised, but the original offer should stand.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Angislot

New for old cover goes ways beyond the usual indemnity settlement market value basis.
As I know from personal experience the Loss Adjuster is there to help you as much as the Insurer. They work to a Royal Charter and as a Chartered Loss Adjuster must at all times be impartial.
Sadly some of them forget this.
Can we establish at the start that you , your son' the Loss Adjuster and Insurer are all in agreement on the scope terms and conditions of the policy?
At this stage it is important to note an Insurer or their Adjuster cannot import a term into the policy that wasn't there before the loss.
An Insurer in some policies has the right to physically replace the stolen caravan with a brand new model giving you the same level of guarantees and warranties enjoyed on the original.
Equally in my experience most decent insurers will allow reinstatement in an alternative format providing their financial cost is not increased.
Thus there is no reason why your son can't opt for a 4 berth version of his list 6 berth unit.
Hold fire!
Write to the Insurers complaints department as detailed in your policy .
As the Prof said you MUST follow the policy's complaints procedure to the letter.

I think you may be pleasantly surprised.
Good luck

 

[Raywood]

You need to establish what the equivalent caravan in a current makers line up is and check what price a dealer will sell this for with any cash discount going. You then need to go to the insurer direct with a formal complaint stating what your comparison caravan is and the price available and asking them to justify their figure, quoting precisely the equivalent caravan they are basing their figure on and stating where you can get it for that price, making it clear that if they cannot do this and stick to their figure the matter will then be referred to the Ombudsman. You do not have to follow the companies complaints procedure you simply have to make the complaint, it is the insurer who has to follow the procedure.
If you have a caravan no longer made it is essential that before agreeing that it is insured on a replacement as new basis that they agree the comparable caravan the value will be based on in the event of a total loss. The Caravan do this and each year before covering our Avondale would quote what they considered the one the value would be based on and even agreed a different model with me when I said the Coachman they used was too heavy and I would prefer to use a Swift as the basis for the insurance.

 

[Dustydog]

The frustration with these issues for me is the lack of follow up by the OP.
Come on Angis. Tell us the final result please.

 

[Raywood]

Dusty If a formal complaint is made it could still be a week or two before the outcome is known and if they have to go to the Ombudsman then longer but an update would be nice.

The frustration with these issues for me is the lack of follow up by the OP.
Come on Angis. Tell us the final result please.

 

[intransient1]

Ok the main issue here is the adjuster is not working within the policy wording.
New For Old is what the policy was taken out for, end of story no negotiations.
The premium was charged on this basis.
Don't argue with the adjuster deal directly with the insurer only, the new for old cover
was for £20000 they did not argue they didn't argue with this figure when they set the premium.

 

[Raywood]

Ok the main issue here is the adjuster is not working within the policy wording.
New For Old is what the policy was taken out for, end of story no negotiations.
The premium was charged on this basis.
Don't argue with the adjuster deal directly with the insurer only, the new for old cover
was for £20000 they did not argue they didn't argue with this figure when they set the premium.

You can only get the replacement value if this is less than £20,000 even if you insured it for more. The advantage of the Caravan Club policy is that they agree the value before taking on the policy and if the price goes before a loss occurs then they will pay that as well. There can be no real argument with that.