Typical and pathetic tricks to worm out of an insurance claim

In June of 2017 I had the unfortunate luck of having a geyser burst at my property. The affected part of property is a double storey building. This property is currently being rented out and I subsequently had 2 tenants affected by this event.

Being a double storey building, they geyser was naturally stored in the ceiling above the top unit (further referred to as unit 1). At the time of the event, the tenant who resides in Unit 1, was not home. Thus Unit 1 was empty.

I received a frantic call from another tenant, who resides in the lower part of the double storey (further referred to as unit 2). She informed me that there was water running down her walls and through her ceiling and she suspects there must be an issue upstairs as naturally water flows downwards.

Being that this call was received quite late in the evening I advised the tenant to immediately turn off the water supply to the property to prevent any further water loss or damage. This was done, but as you can probably imagine, this was a little too late in terms of water damage already done to the property.

I eventually received a frantic call from the occupant of Unit 1 who proceeded to convey her absolute dismay at the state of her kitchen ceiling, her kitchen walls, her kitchen floor as well as a portion of bedroom ceiling. I proceeded to calm her and after apologising for the inconvenience, explained that unfortunately these things happen. I committed to resolving this for her ASAP as I could hear the frustration in her voice and being the proactive, caring and professional landlord that I am, arranged for contractors to visit the next day to resolve her issues.

My contractor arrived and replaced the kitchen ceiling as well as the kitchen floor and also connected any units without water to remaining geyser. Unit 1 sorted, except for the walls and bedroom ceiling. (Funds did not allow for this at this time) Unit 2 was not that badly damaged, but needed to be addressed regardless. The occupant of Unit 2 was willing to be patient.

During this time I was informed that I could have claimed from my building insurance for the geyser burst as well as any damages. I was not aware of this. Nobody to blame for this ignorance but myself.

So claim initiated in early August 2017.

I contacted Ooba to initiate the claim, I was referred to Hollard, who in turn referred me to another company who said an assessor Robert Shaka would arrange a meeting with me at the property to discuss the damages and compile his report. I was advised that the lapse in time during event date and claim date would not be an issue.

I received an SMS from Robert indicating the meeting would be set for Saturday at 15:00 pm.

I arrived at the property at 14:40 pm and patiently waited for Robert to arrive. At 15:10 pm I entered the property and was informed by the occupant of Unit 2 that Robert had been to the property earlier that morning and that he had performed his assessment and would provide feedback to the insurance company. REG FLAG. I was not happy about this as we had an agreed time for this inspection to take place. The occupant of Unit 2 however was very happy with Robert and his feedback and exclaimed her joy that finally the resultant damages of the burst geyser would be resolved. As mentioned by her to myself and confirmed by Robert, her sagging ceiling, her damaged walls (paint) and her lifted floor tiles would soon be replaced.

So finally, after numerous calls, failed promises for feedback, disgruntled calls from tenants, poor and totally shocking service delivery, I now find myself disputing findings by Robert Shaka. His findings are not only laughable, devoid of logic and basic reasoning, but they are in direct contrast to the verbal findings and feedback supp**** to my tenant, as per red flag above, who is willing to supply a sworn affidavit to state the same.

I mention the red flag again as I can only think this is a tactic used by Robert/Hollard to create such a frustrating, he said/she said scenario in the hopes that clients will rather drop their claims rather than wait the 3 months I have, to get a matter resolved.

In closing: my claim has been approved and geyser replaced after paying R800 excess. (Thank you) Resultant damage has not been addressed. Kershiar advised they would approve my claim for work by contractors I have already paid for. (Thank you). She said she would get back to me regarding the rejected damages claim, that was 3 weeks ago. I have heard nothing since.

Reasons for rejecting the claim for unit 2 as per Robert Shaka’s RED FLAG REPORT:

Rusted (not leaking) roof sheets – This has nothing to do with unit 2 as it is not even leaking in the unit above. (Unit 1) Dampness in the walls indicating a long presence of water damage – Please see time lapse between event date and date of inspection. (2 months) During winter. Lifted tiles caused by standing water, but not from the geyser water – the geyser burst, the water flows downwards, it tends to pool on the floor. Sagging ceiling – caused by rusted (not leaking) roof sheets These are located a floor and ceiling away. Unit 1 is above Unit 2 and Unit 1 has no leaks.

Please escalate this matter to the relevant Supervisor/Manager/EHOD/CEO get it resolved ASAP, I have tenants suffering, a building suffering as well as my patience suffering for the last 3 months. Having worked in the service industry for nearly 20 years, I feel 3 months’ worth of patience is being very generous.

Terribly disappointed.