Welcome to the Total Claim Solutions (TCS) website

Bath
My name is Tony Sumner and I have 25 years experience dealing with all aspects of domestic building and contents damage claims for 2 of the top 3 UK based Insurance Companies.  During this time I have seen many changes in how insurers have dealt with building damage claims, but there are still 2 options that insurers generally tend to follow.

These will depend on the value and type of damage involved, with many lower value claims being settled by requesting the customer to obtain one or two estimates to submit to the insurer. Once received, the insurer will usually settle on the lower of the 2 estimates received in a process called desk topping, which enables a quicker decision to be confirmed to the customer.

However, if the estimates appear high for the work involved, or the value exceeds the insurer’s threshold for desk topping the claim, the insurer will then arrange for a visit to the damaged property to assess the claim in more detail.  This visit will usually be undertaken by one of the following:
  1. A member of staff employed by the insurer who will visit site and agree settlement once liability has been accepted. 
  2. A Loss Adjuster, who will act on your insurers behalf and if liability is accepted, will settle the claim in accordance with the insurers instructions.  The Loss Adjusters fee is paid by the insurer. 
  3. An outsourced Inspection Company who will report on whether the claim is covered and advise on the repair costs.  Their fee is usually paid by the insurer.
Some insurers use either their own in-house Builder Repair Network or will have access to one of the many repair networks available who will then undertake the repairs and invoice the insurer direct.  Contractors who participate in these networks usually have to pay the Network provider a management charge which is usually based on a % of the repair value and can be as much as 22% of the repair cost.

Other insurers will prefer for the customer to obtain their own estimates, which can sometimes be a worry for those customers that do not have details of a local recommended contractor.   

For full details of what we offer, please view our Services page.