IC Assist’s Blog

IC Assist's Bog for buildings insurance claims

Welcome to IC Assist’s blog.

Here we share news and information we think anyone making a home insurance claim might like to know. As when making a claim for the first time there are many things policy holders don’t know. That’s where IC Assist can help.

We manage a wide variety of property claims and each one is unique.

What makes working in the insurance repair industry so interesting is, that no two claims are every the same. This is because there are so many factors that affect the outcome of a claim. For instance, the:

events leading up to or cause of the loss
type and extent of property damage
policy wording and exclusions

As a result, in order to establish if you have a valid claim, our Claims Manager will carefully review all of the above. If he believes your insurer should approve your claim, he will professionally present it to your insurance company.

We share information that could help other policyholders who have similar circumstances.

IC Assist’s blog will share insights into claims we manage that aren’t straight forward. As this could benefit someone with similar circumstances. It could be especially helpful to anyone who is experiencing difficulties or problems with their claim.

IC Assist are here to help and support you.

If you need some guidance with your claim, we have a long list of questions we get asked by customers when making a claim. Or alternatively, feel free to give us a call on 0800 4337 290.

Customer Satisfaction Is Our Number One Priority!

27 August 202118 October 2017 by IC Assist

As a small family run company, we really do care about our customers and that’s why customer satisfaction is so important to us. We strive to be the best in our field to ensure our customers get a professional service at all times. For almost a decade, we’ve worked hard to build a reputation that we are very proud of. As a result, we have lots of satisfied customers who would happily recommend our service to friends and family. In fact, a lot of new clients have been recommended by happy customers we’ve helped in the past!

How does IC Assist achieve such high customer satisfaction levels?

Quite simply because we have very high standards in everything that we do. Our attention to detail and passion for delivering an exceptional service is what sets up apart. We put a great deal of time and effort into every aspect of a claim. Right from the initial survey and producing a comprehensive quote. To getting all the necessary repairs authorised and planning the reinstatement work down to the finest detail!

IC Assist do things the right way!

So, this means no cutting corners or using cheap materials. We strive to do a job right first time. Our mission is to leave you with a beautifully repaired property that not only looks good, but is built to last. How do we achieve this? By only using products that we have tried and tested and would use in our own home. The last thing we want is for a product to fail or not be long lasting.

We also don’t rush jobs or take on more work than we can handle. Even if this unfortunately means having to turn customers away. As ultimately, this could potentially have a knock on affect on our service levels. (Which is something we do not compromise on!)

What’s the most valuable aspect of our service?

The one thing are customers are most grateful for is our determination. As unfortunately, it’s common for Loss Adjusters to offer inadequate settlements. Typically because, they’re basing it on their scope of works. (Usually it’s missing a lot of necessary repairs, simply because they are overworked and rush). Getting them too add in everything they’ve overlooked takes a lot of time and perseverance!

However, the part of our service that has the biggest impact on our customers, is when we overturn wrongfully declined claims. This is something we have done countless times over the years. It’s also what makes our job so rewarding. The key to our success is mainly due to the time we invest in carefully reviewing the customers policy wording and exclusions. In conjunction with considering the circumstances leading to the loss/damage. Once we are certain the claim should be approved, we work tirelessly to get them to approve the claim.

The reviews you see above are taken from our Facebook page. Some of our clients have taken the time to leave us feedback. To see what they have to say about our claims management service and the quality of the repairs, please take a look at our Facebook testimonials below.

Want to see some more feedback? Feel free to have a browse through some of our handwritten customer satisfaction forms in our Facebook albums. We also have some great feedback from other customers we’ve helped on Google and MyBuilder.

Settling Home Insurance Claims

7 April 202128 July 2017 by IC Assist

Settling home insurance claims

Some insurance companies are trying a new approach to settling home insurance claims. Now they are basing their settlement offers on just a few pictures of the damage.The main reason they are doing this, is ultimately it saves them time and money.

Unbelievably, insurers are now making their customer do more work, so they can do less. How? By making their policy holders email them photos of the damage to their home. Then, they will offer a cash settlement on the basis of what they can see in the photographs. Accepting a cash settlement without a full property damage assessment, isn’t a good idea. This is why we highly recommend that you do not accept a settlement without having a thorough assessment first.

Trying to cut costs by using office based Claims Handlers, is an awful way to deal with a claim. Instead, your insurance company should send out a Loss Adjuster to actually assess the damage.

Photos do not show the full extent of the damage – especially where water damage is concerned.

In our experience, office based Claims Handlers don’t have the same knowledge and experience to settle a claim as a Loss Adjuster. In addition, what’s really worrying, is that photographs wont show any damage beneath the surface. With water damaged properties in particular, this is a big problem. As, if a Loss Adjuster doesn’t actually see the damage, how can they be sure there is no damage beneath?

Here’s an example of what Loss Adjusters can overlook when settling home insurance claims.

IC Assist were called in to survey a water stained ceiling caused by a leak from the flat above. The Loss Adjuster and contractors that attended prior to us, were all proposing to just stain block and paint the ceiling.

During our survey of the property, we removed the kitchen plinth to assess the walls behind the cabinets. As suspected, there was significant mould and water damage to the walls in the kitchen and bedroom. Based on this, we believed the underside of the ceiling plasterboard was likely to be mouldy and saturated. After further investigation, the damage we discovered was so bad, we had to rehouse the tenant. Multiple layers of plasterboard, insulation and even the timber structure were compromised and required replacing.

So, if a Loss Adjuster and other contractors who actually surveyed the damage can overlook this amount of damage. How much hidden damage can an office based Claims handler miss? (Especially, if the base their settlement on ‘what they can see in the pictures’ you forward to them!

Let IC Assist assess the damage to your home, to ensure your insurer doesn’t overlook any necessary repairs.

If your insurance company ask you to send them images of the damage, then please give us a call before you do. As they may be settling home insurance claims in this manor too. As part of our FREE claims management service, IC Assist will forward high quality photographs to them. (But only after we complete a full assessment of the damage to your property.) Also, if there is any water damage, we’ll also take moisture meter readings too. These readings help determine what building materials we can dry and what we’ll need to be replace. In addition, we can also install our drying equipment. This will help stabilise moisture levels and prevent mould or any further damage to your property.

Call 0800 4337 290 now to get your FREE survey of the damage

Thank You Card For Managing Extensive Water Damage Repairs

7 April 20217 April 2017 by IC Assist

Thank you message for all our hard work

Thank you card for managing an extensive water damage insurance claim We would like to share a thank you card we received for managing substantial water damage repairs to a ground floor flat. The message said:

“Thank you for all your hard work. We are so pleased with the flat”.

Sue got in touch as she needed our help with a large escape of water claim. She had a leak from her bath, which had been going on for some time. However, as the bath panel was tiled, she didn’t notice the water leaking from the waste pipe immediately. (It wasn’t until water tide marks appeared on walls throughout the flat, that she realised there was a problem.)

Unfortunately, by this stage the water had already tracked to every room! The concrete subfloors were all soaking wet. This was because the moisture couldn’t evaporate through the laminate flooring or tiles, keeping it trapped underneath. As the concrete became so saturated, it then started working its way up behind the skirting boards. Leaving behind a chalky wave line along the bottom of the walls.

The damage to this flat, could easily have been misinterpreted as rising damp. However, trace and access confirmed the damage was as a result of the escape of water from the bath.

Water damage repairs of this nature require a lot of preparation and drying.

Repairs to walls and floors completed by IC Assist

Due to the extensive drying and repairs necessary, the property was uninhabitable. So we found alternative accommodation for this lovely couple, while we dried and restored their home. Finding Sue and Simon a temporary new home was all part of our free claims management service. (Their insurance company covered the cost to move and rehouse them.)

The first stage in restoring this property was stripping out the water damaged building materials. This not only involved removing all floor coverings. But it was also necessary to remove all the wall paper, so we could hack off all contaminated plaster back to the blockwork.

Before & after picture of water damage restoration in a flat

We then sanitised all affected areas and installed our drying equipment. Due to the amount of water that leaked throughout the property, it took over one month to completely dry.

Before re-plastering the walls, we applied a salt neutraliser to prevent the salts from re-appearing. We then fitted new flooring, skirting board and architrave throughout, before re-decorating every room. We also re-tiled the kitchen walls and floors and gave the bathroom a complete re-fit too!

The images above are just a snap shot of the hallway. You can view more photos of the damage to the other rooms and the repairs IC Assist completed on this water damage property refurbishment on Hometalk.

My Builder feedback for IC Assist's management of a claim for water damage restoration

The couple were absolutely delighted with both our claims management service and the refurbishment of their flat. (Please see the image of the feedback they left us on our MyBuilder profile).

If you’re making a claim and need assistance with the repairs, just let IC Assist take care of everything.

Managing a water damage claim of this size and organising repairs would usually be a daunting and stressful task. However, this was not the case for Sue and Simon, as our FREE claims management service took care of everything. IC Assist handled all aspects of their claim. From dealing with the Loss Adjuster, to arranging alternative accommodation and then project managing the drying and restoration.

If you have an escape of water claim and would like some assistance, just give IC Assist a call on 0800 4337 290.