Written by Joel Zimelstern of The Right Claim – Claim Assessors

Now that the dust has settled and the TV crews have moved on to seek the next headline, many of the victims of the riots are now coming to terms with the daunting prospect of claiming for the damage. Unfortunately there is a lot of potentially misleading information coming from parties who are making as much political capital as they can from the terrible events affecting our communities.

For those who have suffered, there are not many options available; either you claim on your available insurance policy or, especially if you were uninsured, you may hope to recover your losses from the Police.

Speaking to many of the victims it seems clear they are being led to believe that they will have nothing to worry about as the Police will take care of everything. Even David Cameron has said all the right words about compensation being available under the provisions of the Riot Act and how the time for submission of claims is to be extended from the statutory 14 days to 42 days.

But what is the truth and how should you proceed?

For those who have insurance you must present a claim to your insurers and to do it NOW! It is not the time to be worried about increases in premium as you are still obliged to inform your insurers if you have suffered damage even if you do not intend to claim.

Why it is in your interest to claim against your policy?

• You have a contract with your insurers that means they have to pay you within the terms of the policy. Yes, questions still need to be asked and a value agreed, but they have to pay you!

• Policy cover will invariably be on a New-for-Old or Reinstatement basis, meaning that you will receive the full value of your claim, subject to policy conditions.

• Your insurance company has access to a variety of service providers to help put the damage right, so they can take care of your immediate needs by arranging payments on account to you as well as help with alternative accommodation or business premises.

• Your insurers will seek, where appropriate, to recover their outlay as well as any of your uninsured losses from the Police if a claim can be brought under the provisions of the Riot Act.

• In simple terms you will get a lot more, much quicker from your insurers.

If you are unfortunate to have no insurance, or think that you are better off in going direct to the Police for your claim, then you must get your fully detailed and costed claim form into them within 14 days. As at the time of this article, the 42 day extension has not been confirmed, and frankly you don’t want to be excluded because of a legal loophole.

Your claim will be dealt with by a Loss Adjuster on behalf of the police. Whilst they will be sympathetic to your predicament, their hands are tied as to how much they can do and what compensation they can authorize. They, nor the Police, are able to help you prepare your claim.

Their role is as follows:

• For each claim that is made they will need to establish whether your losses fall within the provision of the Riot Act.

• To be satisfied that the damage occurred within areas officially defined as having been subject to a riot.

• Ensure that at least 14 people were involved in the disturbances that affected your property (14 people being the minimum number before a Riot can be declared).

• Check that your losses are consistent with the riot.

• Analyse your claim and then negotiate with you an indemnity settlement allowing for “Wear & Tear” and the age & condition of your property.

Despite what you have been told or hope for, indemnity settlements hardly ever provide sufficient money to replace your belongings. For example during the Toxteth Riots average settlements made under the Act ranged from 30-50% of the value claimed! In this age of austerity who knows what limits the Loss Adjusters will be instructed to settle your claim within.

Victims do not need to deal with this situation alone as there are professional Claims Experts or Loss Assessors available who know how to protect the claimant’s interests and ensure that insurance companies and the Police pay all that is possible.

A Loss Assessor will:

• Properly identify all of your losses including areas you may overlook or that aren’t immediately obvious

• Establish a plan of action that meets your needs today and for the future

• Prepare a detailed and costed claim that will enable your insurers or the Loss Adjusters representing the Police to negotiate a settlement as quickly as possible at the highest level.

• Represent your interests to the insurer or Police throughout the claim process

Despite being regulated by the FSA, not all Loss Assessors are equal. It is important to have confidence in the Loss Assessor as they will form a partnership with you giving you all the support you need to rebuild your home or business. They will take care of the day-to-day headache of the claim process allowing you to focus on those things that are most important to you at such a difficult time.

You will find lists of Claim Assessors on the internet.

We at The Right Claim would be happy to discuss any aspects of your claim so contact us at riot@therightclaim.com or on our Freephone number 0800 054 6767 for a free and no obligation consultation.

The financial uncertainty over the past few years has witnessed many flocking to the traditional safe haven of gold. This rush to buy gold has caused the value to quadruple between 2003 and 2010. This has enabled many to turn into cash their old pieces of jewellery through many of the businesses that developed on the back of this rise.

But how are your insurers taking advantage of this rise? For the majority of home owners their valuables or high risk items are covered within the standard home insurance policy up to a maximum amount in total and individually. These individual policy “limits” are often set in stone by your insurance company, with you as the policyholder being required to specify the items which exceed the limit or if the overall limit is inadequate. So here is the first problem for many, in that as the value of gold (and precious stones) has increased, the policy limits haven’t. Frankly index linking just hasn’t kept pace with this meteoric rise in the value of gold. Over the years dealing with claims, I must have seen hundreds of people who assumed that because an item wasn’t specified on the policy, it wasn’t covered. This isn’t the case; the item of jewellery would typically be covered within the contents sum insured up to the limit specified in the policy. This has changed.

When is a limit not a limit? A number of insurance companies have re-written the rule book and definition of “limit” To them a limit now means exclusion, i.e. if your item is worth more at the time of loss than the incidental “limit” in the policy, your insurers will not pay for it! Now if that isn’t bad enough, a number of insurers will look at the value of all your valuations irrespective of whether they are subject to a claim (e.g. water damage or flood) and if the total is greater than the “limit” seek to avoid paying the claim all together on the grounds of non-disclosure! At the time of writing, I am not aware of any rulings by the Financial Ombudsman Service in favour of the policyholder or insurers on this point, but knowing how long it can take the Ombudsman to deal with the increasing volume of complaints against insurers, I don’t advise or recommend waiting for this mater to be relied upon!

So what can you do about this?

1. Check your policy for its definitions of high risk items and or valuables.
2. Determine the policy limit for these items in total and individually.
3. Make a list of all of your items that fall within the definition. Beware, some policies have a wide definition which includes electrical items such as TV’s, computer equipment and cameras.
4. Estimate how much you think it would cost to replace all of the items as new. This will give you an indication as to whether the overall limit is sufficient and identify any item in excess of the individual limit.
5. Take all of the items of jewellery to have them valued. I would personally recommend a valuation by a jeweller accredited to the Institute of Registered Valuers as the valuation will then provide an accurate description of the item. Also most valuations will include a photograph.
6. With the valuation to hand you will then have a more accurate assessment of the adequacies of your policy and can then advise insurers of your needs

It is important to recognize that the price of gold is extremely volatile at this time and would be prudent to build in a level of comfort when setting the sum insured. This will also then take into account any purchases that are subsequently made after altering your policy. Remember, you only have insurance to protect you if something happens that you would prefer didn’t. For that reason alone you must get this right. If you don’t you run the very real risk of not receiving the settlement you deserve or in some cases getting paid at all.