To make things as easy as possible for the insurance company, as well as giving your claim the best chance of being accepted, it is important to do things in the right way.
Having handled hundreds of such claims, ESTS can handle all or any part of the process for you without charge. As explained on the main insurance page, we make our money from the work we are asked to carry out as a result of insurance claims, not from customers we are helping.
1. Get an accurate assessment of the problem / damage and cause
In all claims, it is very important to inform your insurance company as soon as you are aware of a potential claim. However, it is very difficult to report a problem unless you know what it is and what has caused it. Hence the first thing to do is to get a specialist assessment, ideally complete with a report for the insurance company. Such an assessment should also enable you to evaluate whether or not the claim is likely to be covered.
ESTS offers a free onsite inspection, during which we will be able to advise on the likelihood of you being covered. Should this be the case, we will provide a report that can be submitted to your insurance company. If it is unlikely that a claim would be successful, we will tell you and explain why, which could save you a lot of time and trouble and avoid increased insurance premiums for no benefit.
2. Report the problem / damage to the insurance company
In addition to providing you with an inspection report, we will also help you understand the key things the insurance company will be looking for when a claim is reported, which can help make the process much quicker and easier for you.Â
3. Visit from loss adjuster
In most cases, insurance companies will use a loss adjuster to assess the situation on their behalf ahead of agreeing and settling a claim. Loss adjusters have an important job to do in preventing insurance fraud and most are highly professional individuals, who can help speed the approval process if they fully understand the exact nature of a claim. However, as they are acting for the insurance company, they do have direct impact on whether claims are accepted and the level of the settlement, so it is very important to work with them to enable them to properly assess the claim.
Given the potential complexities involved, it is often very helpful to have a specialist such as ESTS present during the visit to short circuit the information gathering and address the key issues. We are happy to provide this service free of charge.
4. Acceptance of claim
Ahead of any works being commissioned, the insurance company needs to accept the claim. They will normally do this in writing.
5. Approval of contractor and quoteÂ
When the claim has been accepted in principle, the insurance company will either ask you to submit a quote or they may choose to commission a contractor themselves. ESTS is frequently called in directly by insurance companies to carry out work for claims they have agreed to settle.
6. Legal and compliance issues
With off-mains drainage, there are a number of legal and environmental criteria that need to be adhered to and it is rare that an insurance company would authorise a non-accredited company to carry out works. ESTS has nearly 30 years’ experience in sewage and wastewater management, is fully authorised and we frequently work directly with the Environment Agency to ensure that best practice is always followed.
7. Guarantees and ongoing maintenance
In addition to manufacturer guarantees on all parts and products, all our workmanship is fully guaranteed for 3 years. However, in the unlikely event of problems occurring beyond 3 years as a direct result of the work we have carried out, we will assess the reason and may rectify the situation without charge. We always try and work with our customers in the most reasonable of ways.
Whenever we install anything, we carry out a comprehensive commissioning completely for free. We also offer a variety (Gold, Silver & Bronze) of ongoing service and maintenance contracts, that enable you to budget without unpleasant surprises. If you would like more information on a service contract, please call 01296 397000 and we will explain the options.
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