Case Study Archive: Claim Types: Burst Pipe

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Burst pipe – final settlement of £50,000 after original £10,000 offer

When Mr Ward returned from a winter holiday on a Sunday night, he found a house “full of water”. A pipe feeding the shower had burst after a very cold spell, and water had poured through the building for over a week. Nearly every part of the house and almost all his possessions were badly damaged.

Mr Ward immediately contacted his insurer but couldn’t speak to anyone. He called again the following morning and spent 90 minutes on the phone, but was very unhappy with the company’s response. In particular, he was told that he should stay in one of the bedrooms which, although not badly damaged, was cold and damp: he felt this was unacceptable and found alternative temporary accommodation for himself.

Mr Ward then met with the insurer’s loss adjuster who offered a paltry £10,000 if he agreed to settle immediately, but this was far lower than the real value of the loss and damage. Mr Ward also felt that the loss adjuster was trying to take advantage of the circumstances he found himself in. In addition, the house was not being dried out properly: for example, carpets were left to rot under the car port. According to Mr Ward, “They were trying to end the process as quickly as possible and were so unhelpful about sorting things out. I have a stressful full-time job and things were getting so bad I just couldn’t cope.”

Mr Ward then searched the internet for help and found Morgan Clark: “I wasn’t getting anywhere and couldn’t see an end to it. I had to pass it on to someone else or I might have lost my job.”

The claim

Morgan Clark took over the claim and started the whole process again. They negotiated full agreement for suitable alternative accommodation, and supervised professional drying-out of the property. They then brought in specialist surveyors who drew up a priced specification for re-instating the house, and they prepared a full list of damaged contents.

The result

Morgan Clark negotiated a final settlement under the terms of Mr Ward’s insurance policy of £50,000, far higher than the original offer of £10,000, which illustrates the difference Morgan Clark can make. According to Mr Ward, “the insurer’s loss adjuster actually cost them money by being so difficult: this had caused a delay which increased my temporary accommodation costs.”

Mr Ward cannot praise Morgan Clark enough: “The stress I went through could have killed someone else. You pay your premiums and you think you will get a decent response if you have to make a claim. Morgan Clark did a fantastic job. They relieved the pressure, kept me informed and were so efficient and thorough. You couldn’t find a better company to deal with my situation and I would recommend them to anyone.”

No matter what has caused the damage to your home, Morgan Clark will guide you through the insurance claim process and ensure you are back in your home as quickly as possible while ensuring you receive the full settlement you’re entitled to. Contact our Leeds Loss Assessors today to find out more.

Burst pipe – £52,000 buildings and contents claim

The Heron family were ready for Christmas, which was only two weeks away, and the tree was decorated with presents underneath. They then went away for a few days, during which time there was a sudden cold spell. On their return they found five inches of standing water on the ground floor: a pipe in the loft had burst, sending a torrent through the house. Large areas of the house were wrecked.

The claim

They contacted their insurer straight away but were not happy with the response: nothing seemed to be happening. According to Mrs Heron, “with Christmas only two weeks away, we had enough on our plates. So we investigated loss assessors and, after reading online reviews, decided to talk to Morgan Clark. We knew from the very first minute that they were the right people. They were genuinely concerned for us and explained clearly what they would do: we were convinced they’d fight our corner and make it a very simple process for us.”

Morgan Clark immediately sorted out funding for rental accommodation: initially in a hotel and then in a rented house. They also advised Mr & Mrs Heron to salvage anything they could from the house, and quickly arranged for the cost of storage to be covered by the insurer.

There then followed a 10-week drying out period, carried out by specialists brought in by Morgan Clark. While this was happening, Morgan Clark started the process of re-instating the house: “They took on everything: we just handed over the keys and left it all to them.”

The results

After negotiating with the insurer and their loss adjuster, Morgan Clark successfully achieved a settlement of £52,000. They brought in specialist surveyors and contractors, and all three companies worked together to restore the house to its previous condition.

After nine months, the Herons were able to move back into their house. According to Mrs Heron, “it was stunning: you simply wouldn’t have known there had been any damage at all.”

“Morgan Clark were absolutely brilliant the whole way through. Initially the insurer offered us peanuts and without Morgan Clark we wouldn’t have got the settlement that was finally agreed. To me, using Morgan Clark is money well spent: it’s a small amount off your final settlement but they were able to negotiate so much more for us. If anyone in my family had a similar experience, I would without hesitation tell them to call Morgan Clark straightaway.”

Burst pipe in empty house – £45,000 buildings and contents claim

Mr Macintosh’s three-bedroomed semi-detached house in Kent was unoccupied as he was living elsewhere. Therefore no-one was aware for several days during a very cold spell that a pipe had burst in the loft and water was cascading through the back of the house. The damage, according to Mr Macintosh, was “catastrophic”. Ceilings fell down in several rooms, water leaked into the foundations, and furniture and personal items were ruined.

Mr Macintosh had two different insurers for his building and contents. When he met with their loss adjusters, he realised that he faced a very difficult job in sorting out two separate insurance claims, and felt he would benefit from professional help. He therefore appointed Morgan Clark to handle the two claims on his behalf.

The claim

Morgan Clark immediately took over everything. The priority was to ensure the house was dried out correctly, which was something Mr Macintosh hadn’t thought about, and they brought in experts to carry this out straightaway. They also arranged for the secure storage of contents.

Morgan Clark then got the agreement of the appropriate insurer to bring in chartered surveyors who specialise in reinstating properties after water damage. They prepared a specification for the reinstatement and, with Morgan Clark, discussed with Mr Macintosh his options; in particular, that this provided a cost-effective opportunity to carry out other repairs to the property.

The results

Morgan Clark successfully negotiated a settlement of £40,000 for the reinstatement of the property and £5,000 for contents and experienced contractors were appointed to carry out the work.

The reinstatement included re-plastering the damaged rooms. Mr Macintosh decided to pay a small amount extra to have the rest of the house re-plastered at the same time, and therefore ended up with a better house than before the incident.

Water damage – £120,000 cash settlement

After a period of torrential rain, the guttering and drainage system in Mr & Mrs K’s substantial and luxurious house in Birmingham simply couldn’t cope. Water poured into the property in three different places, causing significant damage to the entrance hall, TV room and indoor swimming pool complex.

Initially Mr K decided to handle the claim himself, but he soon realised that dealing with the insurer’s loss adjuster was going to be extremely difficult. His very busy life meant he didn’t have sufficient time to deal with the claim, but more than that he appreciated that he didn’t have the necessary knowledge or expertise. When the loss adjuster offered a derisory £30,000 cash settlement, Mr K knew this simply was not enough. He therefore decided to appoint Morgan Clark to handle his claim.

The claim

Morgan Clark immediately brought in specialist surveyors who put together a comprehensive specification covering the re-instatement of the property. According to Mr K, “they opened my eyes to what I could claim. I had absolutely no idea that the cover extended as far as it did”.

Morgan Clark compiled an exhaustive claim for a cash settlement which included not just buildings and contents but also payment in lieu of moving into alternative accommodation. It was proving impossible for Mr K to find somewhere for his family to live locally: any property of a similar standard to his damaged house would have cost a prohibitive £10,000 a month to rent.

The results

After intense and extended negotiations, the insurer’s loss adjuster agreed to Morgan Clark’s total claim for a cash settlement of £120,000: four times the original sum offered. According to Mr K, “when I look back I realise the loss adjuster was a rogue. It goes against common decency after we’d gone through such a traumatic incident to then be offered a fraction of what we lost.”