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My house is so damaged that
I can no longer live there. What happens next? |
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Almost all household insurance policies
provide cover for the reasonable cost of alternative accommodation
that it is necessary to incur for the period that your home
is uninhabitable. Usually, the amount of cover available is
a percentage of the available sum insured under both your household
buildings’ and household contents’ insurance policies. |
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What do you mean by ‘uninhabitable’? |
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As a general guide, your home is
considered as being uninhabitable if it is either no longer
safe to continue in occupation, or because the facilities normally
available to you are so reduced as to render continued occupation
impracticable. As a guide, factors that would be taken into
consideration include whether you, and your family, are able
to sleep, eat, cook and have use of sanitary facilities. Clearly,
before insurers will pay for alternative accommodation, the
claim which you are making must be admitted as a liability under
the terms of either, or both, your buildings’ and contents’
insurance policies. |
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What sort of accommodation will my insurance
company pay for? |
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Insurers will meet the reasonable
costs of obtaining and renting alternative accommodation. Depending
on the severity of damage to your home and contents, it may
be appropriate for short term alternative accommodation which
would normally be in a hotel. Where longer unoccupancy is necessary,
insurers will pay for the cost of locating and renting an alternative
property that is, insofar as is practicable, comparable to your
own. Clearly, the rental market is driven by factors outside
of the control of your insurers and it may not always be possible
to locate an exact equivalent to your own property but the insurers
and their appointed loss adjusters will always discuss alternatives
before any commitment is made. On occasion, you may wish to
continue residing as near to your own home as is possible and,
in these situations, it is sometimes possible for either a mobile
home, or a luxury motor-home, to be rented and placed within
the boundaries of your own property. In this latter instance,
there are obviously restricting factors such as access, services
and space which must be born in mind when making a decision.
In general, there are no hard and fast rules with each and every
claim being considered on it’s own merits. |
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I need to move into a hotel – is
this a problem? |
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Where short term accommodation is
necessary, it is frequently more flexible to arrange accommodation
in a hotel. Insurers have available to them specialist contacts
who can obtain discounted rates, making sure, therefore, that
you are accommodated in a hotel that is comparable in standard
to your own home. Obviously, no hotel is as comfortable as your
own home but your insurer and their loss adjuster, where appointed,
will discuss with you what is considered as correct and reasonable
expenditure. Sometimes, it may be necessary for you, and your
family, to live in a hotel whilst longer term rental of a “proper”
home is organised. |
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I may be able to stay with friends or
family – is this covered? |
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If this is an option which is available
to you, and with which you are comfortable, then normally there
will be no problem in agreeing with you an appropriate allowance.
This can either be agreed on a daily basis or for an agreed
time period. A written receipt will be required from the ultimate
recipient of the monies which are paid over by your insurers. |
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Hotels and house rental can be expensive
– what cover do I have for these costs? |
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Your buildings and contents’
insurance policies will both provide cover which is available
up to the limit specified in each policy. Normally, where damage
to your home is so great that alternative accommodation is necessary,
both buildings and contents will be affected with the result
that each insurer will contribute equally towards the cost of
alternative accommodation, only stopping this sharing once the
policy cover is expended. It is normal for insurers to restrict
the cost of alternative accommodation to the period actually
necessary before you are able to move back into your home, even
if all of the repair works have not been completed. Sometimes,
it may be appropriate for some small reduction to be made to
reflect costs which you would normally incur whilst living at
home that are no longer being incurred whilst you are living
in temporary accommodation, particularly whilst in a hotel.
Heating and lighting, and house-keeping costs are prime examples. |
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What about other expenses will I incur
moving into another property? |
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Costs associated with moving into
alternative accommodation will be considered on a fair and even
handed basis, with each cost being judged on it’s own
merits. Examples of such costs might be the additional expense
of taking meals in a hotel as compared to preparing your own
meals whilst at home. More consequential costs may be incurred
in arranging for removal of undamaged possessions either into
your temporary home, if this is unfurnished, or even placing
these items into temporary storage at a furniture repository.
Whilst alternative accommodation will usually have basic services
provided, such as gas and electricity, it may be necessary for
a telephone to be installed which is clearly an extra cost which
would not otherwise have been incurred. We would always suggest
that you discuss any costs which you feel you need to incur
either with your insurer, or the appointed loss adjuster, before
you make any final decision. This will avoid any surprises and
disappointments at a later date. |
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I have lost the use of some facilities
at home but I still live there – what should I do? |
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It is not unusual for only part
of your home to have been affected; for example, perhaps only
your kitchen has been damaged. There is no hard and fast rule
that can be applied with insurers considering each case on it’s
merits. However. it would not be unusual for some form of allowance
to be agreed. This would reflect the savings that arise in respect
of the cost of alternative accommodation by a compromise solution
being agreed, wherebv you continue to live in your home albeit
in reduced circumstances. |
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Will my insurers keep on paying for accommodation
costs until every repair has been completed at my home? |
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Normally, insurers would expect
you to move back into your home as soon as it was returned to
a habitable condition, even if not all of the repair works had
been completed. For example, it may be that some redecoration
remains outstanding but that all facilities and living accommodation
are available and are usable. |
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If there is any aspect about
which I am not sure, what should I do? |
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Before you make any final decisions
and commitments, we would always recommend that you speak to
your insurer and/or the appointed loss adjuster so that mutually
agreeable decisions, that are fair and even handed, can be made. |
