Insurance is there to cover you when an accident happens. It’s peace of mind.
You expect that whatever you lost or had damaged would be replaced or repaired to the state it was before the accident.
That gave Waihi woman Cynthia Bridson a little relief when she accidentally flooded her kitchen last year.
Bridson wasn’t well at the time and had fallen asleep after leaving her kitchen tap running.
“I had emptied the entire contents of my hot water cylinder,” she said.
“It was heart breaking and it was entirely my own fault, nobody to blame but me.”
The water damaged her floor, a few of her cupboards, the pantry, and part of her bench top.
“Over time the bench has moulded out, so there was water under the bench which I didn't even know was there,” Bridson said.
She immediately phoned her insurance company AA Insurance, who she has a home and contents policy with.
All up the scope of works would cost $11,000. Bridson’s policy though, doesn’t cover the repairs or replacement of any part of her home that is undamaged and doesn’t cover an entire kitchen renovation.
This meant that if an exact match for those parts of the house couldn’t be found, Bridson would end up with a “patched-up” looking kitchen.
“It will make a house that I've worked hard to look really nice, look scruffy,” she said.
According to Bridson, the new kitchen bench designs she has to choose from would not match her current bench.
If she wanted her bench to match, Bridson would have to cover the costs to replace the undamaged parts. One builder told her it would set her back $6000.
“On the pension I don't have the money to do that,” she said.
Aside from the bench, AA Insurance is replacing three of Bridson’s laminated cupboard units. AA Insurance has told Fair Go that the new ones will be painted and heat cured to produce a laminate finish.
It’s unclear whether they will match the original cupboards.
But Bridson said the paint colour will not match. She said the builders showed up with a sample colour of the cupboards and it was clearly different to her original ones.
“The only way that would be acceptable to me is if we painted all of the cupboards,” she said.
Tom Bartlett, head of home claims at AA Insurance, told Fair Go that it takes a fair and reasonable approach to repairs.
“Our suppliers always offer the closest match they have at the time, however if there is a closer match available, we will happily use that,” he said.
On top of this, as far as Bridson knows, AA Insurance is only replacing the left-hand side of the pantry.
When it comes to matching appearances, AA Insurance said it will make efforts to repair, rebuild or replace the damaged parts to the condition it was, when it was new or last enhanced to create a consistent and uniform look.
But if materials or items are no longer available, other areas of the home that are not damaged will not be repaired or replaced to create a matching appearance.
The most common query insurance companies get is about matching carpet in repairs.
In this case, if the carpet has been damaged beyond repair and the same type is no longer available, according to AA Insurance they'll try to replace it with the nearest equivalent. But only in the room where the damage occurs.
The Insurance and Financial Service Ombudsman Karen Stevens confirmed insurers have no obligation to replace anything that's undamaged. Receiving queries about mismatched repairs are common for her office.
“We would look at the aesthetic of the house and whether or not the match was going to be totally mismatched,” she said.
“We would suggest to the insurer that they might want to possibly pay towards an improvement.”
The Ombudsman also said it’s about being realistic about repairs and knowing exactly what you're entitled to.
“Rather than talking to relatives, rather than talking to people who've had things happen before, start with the insurer because you'll get the absolutely clear picture of what your entitlement is under the policy,” she said.
“If you're not happy with the scope of works, if you're not happy with the style of carpet that is up for replacement or the bench tops or whatever it might be, that's the time to talk to the insurer.”
Bridson and AA Insurance disagree on what caused the mould under her bench. Bridson said it was the flooding, but AA Insurance said it may not be, but it will still repair the damaged part of the bench.
Bartlett told Fair Go that Bridson can either proceed with the agreed repairs or AA Insurance will offer a cash settlement which could be used towards a more extensive kitchen renovation.
Bridson does have a third option.
The Ombudsman said if people are not satisfied and their complaint hasn't been resolved internally, they can take their complaints to the Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman for free.
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