How much would you have to pay to fix your home after flooding, with the ceiling is destroyed, plaster falling off, electrics dangling and tiles dropping off the walls? Paul and Anne Mansbridge, Berkshire couple, had quotes varying from £13,000 to £24,000 – but their home insurer, the AA, will pay just £4,270.
The Mansbridges say that they have been left baffled and increasingly angry by what they describe as the AA’s penny-pinching stance. A leak from their toilet cistern brought down the ceiling in two rooms and ruined their kitchen while they were away on holiday.
The Mansbridges’ experience will raise further worries about home insurers’ unwillingness to pay out in full.
Although the incident happened last January, they say their home in Upper Basildon is no nearer being restored because of the AA’s refusal to properly pay for the damage.
The AA offered to send in its own contractor to take over the work for the £4,270, but the couple rejected simply because they don’t believe the work could be done to a decent standard for that price. The AA guarantees its work – but only for two years.
The couple’s experience will raise further concerns about home insurers’ unwillingness to pay out in full when a calamity occurs.
Last month the consumer group Which? warned that complaints about buildings cover saw the biggest increase – 42% – in insurance complaints sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service last year. The FOS data also shows more than half of the insurance complaints against the AA were resolved in favor of the customer last year.
The Manbridges’s saga started earlier this year when they returned home from a 28-day trip abroad to be met with a scene of devastation.
“On entering our front door, it was like walking into a shower room in our hall, with the addition of the ceiling hanging down nearly to the ground floor. It was the same in our kitchen, which had all the eight light fittings dangling on the end of their flex,” said Paul, who is 82 and suffers severe back pain despite spinal surgery last May.
“The tiled floor in the bathroom was swollen up and the ceiling had fallen in, carrying away areas of kitchen wall plaster. The backdoor framework is now warped and it has caused damage to the door locking system.” Anne, who suffers a chronic illness, said the dispute has taken a heavy toll on their health.
After the floors had been stripped out to allow the house to dry, the couple – on the advice of the AA – got three independent quotations from builders. The highest was £24,500, the second was £18,000 and the cheapest £12,865, which they deemed reasonable, given the damage and the work required.