Serious answers please - I have got an insurance claim for a carpet.......?

Question

My lounge is 6 metres wide by 27 ft long. the replacement carpet only comes in 5 metre widths which means that replacement carpet would have to be ordered measuring 54 ft long to add the piece down the side. This will obvioulsy leave a very big remnant piece. Surely that is mine and cannot be taken away by the carpet supplier?

Answer 1

If you paid for the area of your lounge then should get the carpet to fit this. If you pay for the entire 54ft of course you are entitled to keep any remainder.

However, you are not paying for this. Your insurance company is.

While it may seem unfair for them to take away carpet you may need at a later date you may not be entitled to it.

This will depend on the terms of the policy you have with the company.

Either way, it should not actually be the carpet supplier who receives the remainder and what use would the insurance company have for the excess carpet?

Answer 2

It really does depend on the terms and conditions of your policy.
I'll try and answer your question although my qualified field is in motor insurance, not household.

Firstly it depends on the way that your insurer is dealing with your claim, if for example they have asked you to obtain a couple of competitive estimates and submit then to a loss adjustor and they agree costs, then you instruct the carpet fitter to do the work, its between you and the carpet supplier what happens with the remnant. Although this would be classed as betterment but realistically there wouldnt be much that the insurer could do about it.

If your insurer has a preferred company that they deal direct with and replaces the carpet they will probably take the remnant with them.

What you need to remember that the underlying principle of insurance is that of indemnity, ie being put back to the same financial or physical position you where in before the event that gave rise to the loss (claim) happened.

Another way of looking at it would be if you had some paintwork that needed to be resprayed on your car after a accident you wouldnt expect the paint sprayer to give you the leftover paint for any future 'touch-up' jobs.

Same principal applies for your carpet claim.

Answer 3

I had a similar experience with a large area. think that it will depend on the insurance company.
a. Some of them give you the money and let you get on with the job - in this case whatever you buy is yours - not the carpet suppliers nor the carpet fitters. If there is a large remnant you should negotiate a fitting price with the carpet fitter.
b. Some of them have contracts with carpet suppliers You choose the carpet required but fitterswill carry out the work in accordance with the inurers instructions. The carpet belongs to the insurer and they may or may not choose to leave remnants.
c. This would be a mixture of both and the insurer stipulates a supplier but then leaves you to it. The onership in this case would probably be a s a.

Why not ask your insurance company?

Answer 4

Firstly, don't even think about what people suggest and having yuor carpet with a join going across it. This is not recommended unless you have to do it cheaply and if your original carpet was laid with a long edge seam, this is what you are entitled to. If you have informed the insurance company of the size of the room and then supplied quotes for the size you require to replace it and it has been agreed by the insurance company, then this is the amount of carpet the supplier has to supply. Any 'wastage' is just that - wastage. The fact that you may be able to use it elsewhere is irrelevant. The only variation of this would be if the insurance company arranges everything from ordering to fitting to paying but if this does happen then insist that the carpet supplier gives you a signed letter on company paper saying they are removing x amount of excess carpet. Tell them that you intend to send the letter to the insurance company. This way if its a dodgy supplier who thinks he can make a fast buck, it will put them off because technically they would be commiting fraud by charging for a larger amount of carpet than they are supplying.

Answer 5

Legally it will belong to the insurer as they are liable only for refurbishing the affected room. But your insurer isn't going to want ownership of the remnants nor will the carpet supplier be able to keep it as it's been paid for.

Having said that if it's a plain carpet they'll probably lay it the other way round so there's less wastage and there will still only be one join. (Your room's roughly 6 by 9 metres, so if the carpet's 5 metres wide they only need waste 1x6 meters not 1x9).

Answer 6

If they've only charged your insurance company for the amount they carpeted then they can take the remnant. If they've charged the insurance for the whole lot I would guess it's yours as I doubt the insurance company want carpet remnant.

Of course, this is not a legal opinion and just my thoughts as a fair-minded person. The legal ins and outs will invariable baffle even the most logical and fair-minded person.

Answer 7

If you paid for the square yardage of your lounge only then you get enough carpet to fit this only. However, if like what is normal you had to pay for the 2 bits to make up the full size then you are fully entitled to keep what you paid for.

You paid for being either you, the insurance company or whoever. If the insurance company foots the bill for all the carpet then them removing some of it is defrauding the insurance company.

Answer 8

The Insurance Company is only liable to replace the carpet in the room. Why would you expect more than this?
A more economical way wouild be to lay the carpet across the room, not along it - but this would only benefit the Insurance Company.

Answer 9

You obviously have had a quote for this carpet, the insurance company will be aware of the measurements and will be paying out on this quote therefore the remants of the carpet are yours. I wouldn't have thought the insurance company will want it! If the remants are very large the supplier cannot take them away as they have already been paid for.

Answer 10

It sounds to me like you expect to get something for nothing. If the remnant is left then you have a bonus, if not - you are even. You did not insure anything but the carpet on the floor, not the extra.