Survey on 15thC house

[Nemesis]

I'm surprised the damage was as bad, dry rot smells a bit!

There is of course a sort of lunacy which takes over in the belief you have to hack and burn to get rid of spores.

 

[Flyfisher]

There is of course a sort of lunacy which takes over in the belief you have to hack and burn to get rid of spores.

I suspect that was the case . . . and if an insurance company is paying then everyone involved gets their snout into the trough.

Still, it was only a standard post-war suburban semi so no historic fabric was lost by the slash-and-burn approach.

 

[Nemesis]

No, but in the end we all pay don't we with this snouts in the trough insurance job stuff?

Higher premiums.

 

[Flyfisher]

Many years ago (20+?) someone ran into the back of my car at a junction. My first accident! No big deal really, a bent bumper (how many cars have metal bumbers these days?!) and a slight bodywork dent.

I took the car to a local garage for a quote. It was nearly £600. When I explained it was not an insurance job the price came down to £150, mainly because they then only quoted for the actual damage instead of all the 'associated damage' :roll:

But you're absolutely right, of course. We all pay for such things with higher than necessary premiums. Just like we all pay for credit card fraud and shoplifting

 

[NT]

In what is a more or less capitalist society, it seems odd that insurers dont get their act together on repair pricing, and slash their payouts big time. Perhaps they think its in their interest to be ripped off, and to thus be able to pass all those costs plus a percentage onto the customer in turn.


NT

 

[skier-hughes]

When someone went into the back of Jo's car the insurance company sent a man round to inspect all the removed parts to ensure all they were paying out on was needed.

 

[shelli]

Just goes to show (yet again) that people sitting in insurance (as well as other (e.g. planning!)) offices have very few practical skills and are unable to quantify jobs properly.

i have found that most insurance companies just ask for 2 quotes and then tell you to proceed with the lowest - hardly an academic approach - when both could be wildly inaccurate

 

[David Dyer]

A few years ago my wife lost a gold bracelet I'd given her for a birthday the Insurance company insisted on dealing with the original jeweller direct for a replacement as they had an 'arrangement' with all jewellers that belonged to a particular guild this apparently amounted to a 6 1/4% discount off the list price. Jewellers generally work on around 100% mark up so not a very good arrangement.
The jeweller in question was a friend and was quite happy to offer a much larger discount what do you do in that circumstance I took his advice and took the much more expensive bracelet he offered, the insurance company didn't pay any more and wife was more than happy.
The insurance company had a valuation of all the more expensive items including this bracelet and would only work their way so I don't feel guilty at all.

 

[pianoredwood73]

Wow, thanks everyone. Lots of good points. I did originally ask the surveyor to do a quick once over to see if it's likely to fall down and leave all the obvious stuff that I'll be doing anyway, but he said with a property of that age the only thing he'd do would be the full monty. So sadly it's all or nothing.

Reckon we're going to rely on our experience, good to know not everyone is saying we're crazy. Let's face it with all the caveats these guys generally put in (as you say, they don't have x ray eyes, none of us do) there are no guarantees and if you're assuming you'll have to do most things, anything's a bonus! We're going to go there again with a torch, a few hours and a nosy attitude and go from there. Did occur to us that when we meet the local CO that would be a good source of info, and we know there's not going to be any reduction in the price this end of the contracts, so hey ho. Had already noted that the wiring would need a good check and prob some work so will get an electrician in forthwith - esp as it's thatched, no room for guesswork there.

Thanks again everyone, will keep reading with interest.
Sarah