Learn from this insurance saga

Toni McCarthy, from Paraparaumu, gives an opinion regarding home insurance coverage

While we were away at Christmas a pipe in our kitchen burst. We arrived home at midnight on New Year’s Day to a flooded kitchen, dining area and spare room. While we had insurance, the repair process was still stressful and there are a few things that I learnt from the experience that I thought I could share:

• Importance of your policy document. Your policy document contains all the fine print of the agreement that you have with your insurance provider. You should read your policy document so you have an idea of the things that are and are not covered and what you are required to do in the event of a claim. If you keep your policy document in a place that is easy to find you will thank yourself in the event that you do need to make a claim. I was able to find my policy document before calling my insurance provider so I knew that I was covered for up to $20,000 in temporary accommodation and when the call centre tried to say that my cover was limited to $2500 as it was gradual damage I could find the relevant section of the policy document so that I could argue against this. I was covered for the full damage.

• The loss assessor works for the insurance company. It is their job is to minimise the cost of the repairs and therefore do as little repairs as possible. If you are worried that the structure of your home has been affected, demand that the loss assessor brings a registered master builder with them to assess the damage before the repair work commences. In my case I had swollen chipboard flooring and the loss assessor was trying to convince me that they could simply sand it down. I was worried that the structural integrity of my flooring was affected. A registered master builder confirmed that three sheets of flooring needed to be replaced. In my experience, if I was not getting adequate responses from my loss assessor I would call my insurance company directly and the problem was resolved within 24 hours.

• Silver lining. In unfortunate situations like this, finding a silver lining can help you get through and turn something that seems negative into a positive experience. While the insurance company will only replace like for like, you are able to pay the difference and upgrade things such as floor coverings, cabinets and bench tops. If you can afford to, it makes sense to utilise the free labour cost and upgrade during this process.