Our basement was partially flooded due to a water pipe leak and several pieces of furniture have been damaged by water and mould ) it took several weeks for the building management company to fix the issue and the smell of mould is across everything, even if there's no apparent damage - we took some photos but had to throw some rerally mouldy items out already due to risk of spreading. Has anyone employed a loss assessor to assist with claims in the past, and how good are insurance companies at paying out for cave water damage? Sorry, a few questions in all that.
Anyone with any experience of making a claim due to water damage in basement?
Been there, done that. I listed what was damaged and the insurance paid without any issues.
Would they ask me to get repair quotes or are they only interested in value to replace?
Oh, I'm sorry this happened to you!
The damage to your furniture is one thing, the role of the landlord about damage to the building another. You claim from your insurance, but they will probably go and claim back from the landlord's insurance... although that's then out of your hands.
Some types of mould can be very bad for your health. Therefore, if any item of your furniture is "just a little bit damaged", don't put it with any of your other possessesions, but either get rid of it, or take it to a mould specialist who will clean it professionally. This is likely to be expensive, though.
If you are not already a member of ASLOCA (the tenants' association), I suggest you join. Ask for their advice about steps to be taken to protect your health: what the landlord is supposed to do to restore the building to a non-mouldy state, and what you should do if the landlord doesn't take that responsibility seriously.
Thank you, I've just registered for ASLOCA membership. You're right, and I was just going to throw away our clothes that were smelly mouldy, but perhaps i would be entitled to claim for cleaning or replacement from the insurance. Everything smells of mould, but not everything shows signs of mould. Should we claim? I would expect that the insurer would request photos that but you won't see from the pics, would they send someone out to see everything do you think?
So I've searched for about an hour for loss assessors or claim handlers and have concluded that there is no such service in Switzerland. I wonder why that is??
Has anyone ever used a service here, obviously very common place in the UK. Just need some help in handling a claim, as per my other post due to water damage.Given we don't speak the language and don't wish to be fobbed off, I was hoping we could hire a service to help us with the claim.
Just make a reasonable claim with the insurance company. i.e. replacement of everything. If they don't like it they'll ask for more details or maybe even send someone. A friend claimed for a bicycle - the insurance asked him verbally how much it might cost to get a new one. He said 1,200CHF and they paid it without any further ado.