Mr K owns a number of commercial and domestic properties in Manchester and consequently has a very stressful and busy working life. One of his properties – a two-bedroomed mid-terrace house – was subject to an arson attack while the tenant was on holiday. The ground floor was almost completely destroyed and there was significant damage upstairs.
Mr K realised he simply didn’t have the time nor the experience to handle the insurance claim. He discussed it with his broker who recommended loss assessors Morgan Clark. After meeting with them, Mr K decided to appoint Morgan Clark to manage his claim.
The claim
Morgan Clark carried out a full assessment of the damage and loss. As part of this, they brought in a specialist firm of surveyors who compiled a fully-costed specification of the work needed to restore the property. This included new partition walls, windows, doors, ceilings and floors, as well as a new kitchen, new electrics and complete redecoration.
According to Mr K, “I didn’t have a clue about what to do: I’d never been faced with anything like this before. I left everything to Morgan Clark and they took all the work connected with the claim away from me.”
The results
Morgan Clark successfully achieved a settlement for Mr K which amounted to £65,000 for re-instating the property and £10,000 for landlord’s contents. But more importantly, he was able to continue with his business as normal without the distraction of making an insurance claim: “Morgan Clark handled my case with care and did an excellent job. I was incredibly stressed with what I needed to do in connection with all my properties and I was able to hand the whole claim over to them. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone facing a similar problem.”
No matter what has caused the damage to your home, Morgan Clark’s Manchester Loss Assessors 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.
The fire which broke out in the kitchen of a Greek restaurant in Hampshire, was described as an inferno. It raged for seven hours, with firefighters battling the flames and shoring up the building. The restaurant was completely gutted, and the five flats above were severely damaged. In addition, the Indian restaurant next door suffered superficial damage.
The entire building, including both restaurants, was owned by Mr P. As well as renting out the restaurants, he had also leased the flats to a local housing association. All tenants and residents had to move out.
Mr P knew he faced a very complicated insurance claim, with the additional problem of being under-insured. He felt very lonely and distressed and realised he needed professional help. He therefore turned to Morgan Clark to handle the entire claim for him.
The claim
Morgan Clark took over every aspect of the claim. This included dealing on Mr P’s behalf with all the parties involved: the insurance company and its loss adjuster; the housing association; the restaurateurs; and the tenants.
Morgan Clark’s experienced team of loss assessors were also very careful in the way they managed Mr P’s expectations for the settlement as he was under-insured. They worked hard to ensure he received the best possible settlement within the constraints of his policy.
The results
After a very difficult and delicate claim during which they worked closely with Mr P to explore the best way forward, Morgan Clark achieved a settlement of £190,000. This included the cost of re-instating the building and an element for loss of rent.
Mr P commented: “I have to say, from my heart, that Morgan Clark did a wonderful job. I couldn’t have done this by myself. I wouldn’t wish a fire on anyone but, if they did experience one, I would tell them to use the highly-professional services of Morgan Clark”.
Mr P has learnt from this experience and has now reviewed his insurance cover across all of his properties so that he is never faced with the problem of under-insurance again.
Mr N’s three-bedroomed house in Surrey, was rented out to tenants. When a massive fire took hold, it was completely razed to the ground: just the exterior shell remained.
The fire had started mysteriously and the cause was not immediately apparent. Mr N therefore faced what could be a lengthy forensics examination. He realised that, as he had absolutely no experience with insurance claims, this could be a very difficult process. He therefore turned to loss assessors Morgan Clark to handle his claim.
The claim
Mr N experienced the benefits of engaging Morgan Clark immediately. While the insurer’s forensic scientists conducted long and intensive face-to-face interviews with Mr N’s tenants, they were happy simply to carry out a much briefer interview him over the telephone, as they had already received ample information on his behalf from Morgan Clark. Although the cause of the fire was never identified, discussions with Morgan Clark led to a speedy acceptance of liability by the insurers.
Morgan Clark then brought in specialist surveyors to prepare a specification and scope of works for the reinstatement of the house. They also discussed with Mr N his options within the limits of the insurance cover: in particular, that this could offer an opportunity of replacing any out-dated fixed items lost in the fire with other more modern items.
The results
After extensive negotiations with the insurer’s loss adjuster, Morgan Clark achieved a settlement of £60,000 to re-instate the property. Through careful planning, the specialist surveyors were able to include a number of extras in the specification, including wooden flooring, down-lighters and double glazing. As a result, the property was re-built to a more modern specification at no additional cost, giving Mr N far better rental returns.
A tenant complained of condensation in Mr Laughton’s three-bedroomed rented house in Lancashire. On investigation, he discovered that she was using butane gas heaters rather than the central heating. These don’t simply cause condensation: they are also a fire hazard if left unattended. Therefore he banned their use.
Despite visits by the agent to check, the tenant continued to use gas heaters. One evening, with her small children asleep upstairs, the tenant left the house to go to a local shop. While she was out, washing fell on a gas heater and a fire started.
Fortunately the tenant returned in time to get the children out of the house and, with the fire station only next door, the blaze was soon under control. But the downstairs was left uninhabitable and the rest of the house was badly damaged by smoke.
The claim
The landlord was now faced with making a significant insurance claim. However he lived 50 miles away from the property: “The practicalities of getting over there so often, to attend meetings and sort the claim out, made it impossible. And I realised there is an art to dealing with insurance people. So I decided that the best thing to do was to bring in a professional.” He therefore turned to Morgan Clark to handle the insurance claim.
The results
Morgan Clark took over the claim and saw it through to a successful conclusion with a settlement of £42,000. According to Mr Laughton, “I was happy with what they did, from the initial visit to the settlement – especially as the final payment was almost double my initial expectations.
“They did everything for me, saved me a lot of aggravation and allowed me to carry on with what I needed to do while the claim was being processed. Using Morgan Clark was one of the best decisions I could have made.”
And Mr Laughton has now included a ban on the use of gas heaters in his rental terms and conditions.