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Who chooses which building
contractor will quote for the re-instatement work? |
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Usually, the choice rests with the
policyholder who will be asked to obtain two or three alternative
estimates. If the work involved is small, you may only be asked
to obtain one estimate. Some insurance companies have their
own selected panel of building contractors, in which case they
will select and nominate a firm. They will then submit their
estimate to your insurer and payment will be made direct between
the insurer and the contractor, subject to you being satisfied
with the standard of workmanship. |
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How should I select the contractors that
I wish to quote? |
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The best advice that we can give
is to talk to friends, family and neighbours to obtain a personal
recommendation. If you select a contractor from the Yellow Pages
or similar directory, you may find that out of ten who say they
will come, only six or seven actually arrive and then only one
or two will actually put an estimate in writing. |
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As a firm of loss adjusters, you must
use contractors on a regular basis. Why do you not recommend
any particular firm? |
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It is our experience that even with
well tried and trusted building contractors, there is no guarantee
that every contract will be problem free. We, therefore, prefer
policyholders to select their own contractor without any input
from ourselves. This also avoids the potential for us being
accused of taking commissions for recommendations! |
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What if I want to have some other work
carried out at the same time as the insurance work is carried
out? |
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This is not a problem providing
that the estimates which are submitted clearly identify which
work relates to the insurance claim and which work is a private
matter between you and the contractor. You should bear in mind
that the insurance policy will not pay for undamaged areas or
for any betterment/improvement works. |
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Once I have obtained estimates, who decides
which firm will undertake the repair? |
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The insurance company or their representative,
such as a loss adjuster, will check that all of the estimates
allow for the same and correct scope of work. Subject to all
of the contractors appearing to be professional and competent,
you will then be asked to instruct the lowest quoting contractor. |
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Who authorises the contractor to start
work? |
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In order to preserve the correct
contractual relationship, we ask you to instruct the contractor
at the earliest possible date that is convenient to both parties.
This means that you are able to control the work of the contractor
and to raise any issues which may arise during the course of
the work on a direct basis. |
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How, and to whom, will payment be made? |
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Unless the contract is very small
(less than £1,500) your insurers or ourselves will almost
always ask to see a copy of the final account. Payment will
then be made direct to yourself taking into account any previously
agreed adjustments including deduction of the policy excess.
If you have a mortgage, the interest of the lender will normally
be included on the cheque. If you would like the contractor
to be paid direct, this will not usually be a problem providing
that you supply a proper letter of authority instructing payment
to be made in this fashion. Normally, you will need to sign
a satisfaction note confirming that the works have been completed
to an acceptable standard. |
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Does anyone check the work once it has
been completed? |
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When the cost of repairs is substantial,
the buildings insurers will normally have paid for the cost
of a surveyor or architect to superintend the work. They will
not issue a final certificate until they are satisfied that
the works have been carried out correctly. For smaller contracts,
the fact that you have forwarded a copy of the final account
is normally taken as sufficient proof that you are satisfied
regarding the work, with the result that no further inspection
will usually be undertaken. |
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What if the builder will not start work
without a deposit? |
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We would not recommend paying any
sums to a builder until they are actually on site and materials
have been delivered. This is to protect you from fraud. Once
you have materials on site that are of some value, arrangements
can be made for an interim payment to be made, subject to an
appropriate interim invoice being produced by the contractor.
On large projects, a number of interim, or stage, payments may
have to be made. |
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Does the VAT have to be paid by the insurance
company? |
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If the policyholder is a VAT registered
organisation which is able to recover 100%, or a part percentage,
from HM Customs and Excise, the insurers will not pay either
any or part of the VAT element of the final account. If the
policyholder is a private individual or is not a VAT registered
organisation, then insurers will meet the full cost of repair
including any element of VAT. Not all contractors are registered
for VAT and you should be careful to ensure that VAT is only
charged by an organisation which is entitled to add VAT to their
invoice. VAT invoices must have a tax point (usually the date
when the invoice is issued), must be clearly numbered, and must
show the appropriate VAT registration number. |
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If I employed an assessor to help me
deal with my claim, can the cost of their fees be met? |
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Unless you have arranged specific
insurance cover to pay for the cost of assessors' fees, which
would be very unusual, their costs must be met by yourself.
Please note that the superintending of the actual reinstatement
works by a surveyor or architect is a different issue which
we have dealt with above. |
