Okay, I'm hoping someone here has a bit of experience with making claims on your buildings insurance. I have a leaky pipe in a wall in my bathroom, upstairs. The water has damaged the ceiling and walls downstairs. My insurance company (Directline) tells me they will cover the damage (though, strangely, not the repair to the leak itself). I've just had a visit from someone who works for a claims management company (Concept-Claims), who is offering to manage the whole process: preparing an estimate for the work, negotiating with the insurance company to get it authorized, dealing with the contractors/workers, handling invoices, etc.
Sounds great, right? Much better than working on my own, finding contractors, fighting with Directline, etc. Does it work? The idea Concept-Claims is trying to sell me on is that I won't spend anything - in particular, they won't proceed with work until it has been authorized by the insurance company.
The only downside that I can see is that Concept-Claims wants me to sign an agreement that has obviously been drawn up by expensive lawyers - quite different from a verbal agreement with a builder. That could be a good thing, but I feel like I'm signing my life away; for the moment, I've told the guy I'm not willing to sign on the spot, I want to get some advice. (So of course I come here...)
In any event, I'd be grateful to hear about any experiences with this sort of thing. If possible, soon too - I need to get this leak sorted! thanks...
