Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Jul 09, 2010 9:11 am A water pipe burst inside our house. The house was empty at the time. It had been rented out but the tenants had moved out because we had put the house up for sale and found a buyer. The water pipe burst 2 weeks before settlement. 11 weeks down the track, and this "soon" only because I've been chasing the insurance company to speed things up due to the fact that settlement on the house would not take place until the house was returned to its pre-event condition, thereby costing us thousands of dollars in interest and no rental income each month, (we had landlord insurance but this is only covered if the house is rented at the time - no consideration given to the fact that the house was empty because it had been sold) we are at the stage where we have had 3 builders quote on the repair work - our own builder and 2 that the ins co arranged. One of the ins co builders' quotes was $4500 less than the next highest. The other 2 quotes were within $1500 of each other. Of course the insurance company will pay their cash settlement based on the lowest quote. I phoned the builder to clarify that his quote covered everything in the scope-of-works. There was one item he did not mention (about $700-$900 worth of work) that he claimed was not on his scope of works, but which was on my copy and that of the other 2 builders' copies. Also, he said he couldn't see that he'd be able to do the job anyway. He said he "quotes jobs for ____ all the time without necessarily the intention of doing the work. I asked him for a copy of his quote and he refused saying that ____ pay him and therefore can only provide ____ with this information. It seems to us that ____, and probably all insurance companies, have builders on their file who they pay to quote on jobs, who quote low because they don't want the job and will keep getting paid by the ins co to do their quotes for them. We have had multiple other issues with ____ through all of this, but wondered if anyone was aware of this practice. If it is the case, it is at best unscrupulous, and at worst highly illegal i would have thought. Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 2Jul 09, 2010 9:46 am gracie ... The house was empty at the time. ... ... the insurance company will pay their cash settlement based on the lowest quote. I phoned the builder to clarify that his quote covered everything in the scope-of-works. There was one item he did not mention (about $700-$900 worth of work) that he claimed was not on his scope of works, but which was on my copy and that of the other 2 builders' copies. Also, he said he couldn't see that he'd be able to do the job anyway. He said he "quotes jobs for ____ all the time without necessarily the intention of doing the work. I asked him for a copy of his quote and he refused saying that ____ pay him and therefore can only provide ____ with this information. ... It seems to us that ____, and probably all insurance companies, have builders on their file who they pay to quote on jobs, who quote low because they don't want the job and will keep getting paid by the ins co to do their quotes for them. ... Looks like ____ is under no obligation to pay for this job in the first place? (if your policy states the conditions of the LL insurance, such as "must be tenanted at the time of the event"). Not sure. Secondly, if one of their builders underquoted so grossly, why do you think that they would settle in cash and not get that builder to actually do the work - is it how this Ins. Co. handles building claims, or is it your assumption, or perhaps your wish? If they do go with the lowest quote as the actual job, don't they have to clarify the scope with their builder (and not you)? In which case it's their issue to sort out?! Or perhaps you can prove to them that they shouldn't take the lowest quote (although it's quite obvious and common sense) - on the basis that other 2 quotes were higher? Or, are you trying to get your own builder do the work and have the ____ to cash settle for the value of his quote? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 3Jul 09, 2010 11:37 am Thanks for your comments Lex - The ins co are responsible for paying for the repairs but not for covering loss of rent because the house was not tenanted at the time. We have been told by the ins co that they will be paying us a cash settlement. Our issue in this instance is if they pay according to the lowest quote and the builder who quoted for the job doesn't want the job, where do we find a builder who will do it for that price. We felt we had no choice but to go with that builder as we don't have any spare money to pay the extra $4500, but it seems we don't even have that choice as he doesn't want the job. Why quote on a job if you have no intention of doing it - unless of course it's in his interest to quote low for the ins co's benefit and so he continues to get paid to do quotes for the ins co? Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 4Jul 09, 2010 1:34 pm Gracie, Most builders, repairers, handymen etc don't get paid by Insurance companies to provide a quotation for them. Unless they are also providing a *report* (generally done when the cause of the problem is unclear), or the contractor has to travel a large distance to the situation of loss to view the damage. Insurance companies have a panel of *preferred contractors/suppliers*, all of whom have been selected (by tender) to provide work at certain rates. If you are not happy with the lowest quotation as you believe that it does not include all aspects of repair required, tell your insurance company. Ask them to provide you with a copy of the quotation. If you are still unsatisfied with their response, take it to their disputes resolution department. You can also tell them that you do not want a cash settlement, and that you want them to authorise repairs. Plenty of contractors provide quotations and have no intention of doing the work, or sometimes they just get to busy to fit the work in. I'm not sure where you are, but here in WA there's a massive wait for different tradies (especially painters) due to storms early in the year, the same in Melbourne as well. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 5Jul 09, 2010 3:41 pm Hi Gracie, It is still unclear to me if you have challenged their lowest quote - as Jodie says, tell your insurance company, ask to talk to the case manager or someone higher up rather than just the call centre operator (or whoever first you get when you call). I am also unclear if the cash settlement is indeed the only choice (doesn't sound right to me) - and have you challenged that? My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 6Jul 09, 2010 8:08 pm Thanks Jodie80 & Lex - The builder in question told me himself that he was paid by ____ so there's no doubt about that. In my mind it's ridiculous to quote on a job you're either not wanting to do or not in a position to as the quote then becomes meaningless. As ____ only pay according to the lowest quote and no other builder will do the work for that price, where does that leave the individual other than out of pocket for something the ins co is supposed to cover. I have spoken to the case manager, customer appeals, and anyone else who will listen but they are sticking to their guns. We don't have time to continue doing this as every week that goes by costs us a lot of money, and our highest priority now is to get the repairs done and put the house back on the market and hopefully find another buyer asap. Even if the insurance company organised the builder in question to do the work, we have no guarantee when he would start and finish the job; he told me himself that he didn't know when he could do the job if he was interested, and if a better (paid) job came along in the meantime he'd take that on over ours. The ins co can't guarantee when he can start or finish the work, and as they've been so slow in everything they've done so far, we're not prepared to trust them with this part of the process if we can at least take control from here. With regards the scope-or-works, I do have a copy of it, and the builder claims that one item on my copy was not on his. I raised this with ____ (case manager & customer appeals), but the message I got back was that it was on his copy & his quote did include it. I don't know who to believe or even why I'm having to discuss this with them. The system is grossly incompetent. Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 7Jul 10, 2010 9:49 am Wow, this does sound like a d***y practice by the insurance company . I would probably get my own builder and pay him with that cash/settl plus the difference, but when I have more time, I would also talk to the DoFT or the insurance ombudsman (not sure which one is more appropriate). My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 8Jul 10, 2010 4:12 pm Yes, we have decided to get our own builder and make up the difference (which we'll have to borrow), and we will definitely be taking it up with DoFT / Ombudsman. We'll do everything we can to make people aware of this, but have little faith in "the powers that be" and will be surprised if our efforts produce anything worthwhile. Hopefully I'll be surprised. Thanks again for your comments, Lex. Re: Builder Quotes low for Ins Co job 9Jul 10, 2010 7:43 pm Pitty I couldn't help, gracie, and wishing you luck. Looks like it's a story that people don't hear often - thank you for sharing your experience! My signature is distracting people from my wise posts ... Regardless of wall hung toilet or floor pan toilet your feet will be right on drain, seems to me the waste should not be in that location given the design. Also are you… 6 7048 Last year I had a gas leak at my house. 3 days later, I have about 1 sqm of my exposed aggregate paving broken up. I am not sure how to go about getting it repaired… 0 10415 Thanks for much mate. I see that you do cabinets before flooring. For timber flooring, for most parts it's fine because it's got base plates, and for door jabs you can… 7 11571 |