The best way to illustrate how we help you with your insurance repairs is by showing you some of the work we have done. We spoke to a recent client, Karen, who called us in to help with an insurance claim and associated repairs, following a water leak in one of her cupboards.
When Karen was faced with a leak in the airing cupboard of her penthouse flat in Bermondsey, she contacted Sarrani to help. She’d heard about them from a friend who had used them previously and who, based on their own experience, assured her Sarrani would remove the hassle of dealing with the insurance claim herself.
Know how
“It would’ve been a struggle to get it all sorted through the insurance ourselves,” explains Karen. “Sarrani had the time to do it and understood what was needed. It’s a no-brainer when you’re busy and don’t have the time for all the to-ing and fro-ing with the insurance company and tradespeople yourself. Plus, Sarrani have the know-how, which to us was a major benefit.”
The problem arose when Karen noticed a leak in her airing cupboard. She called Sarrani who came in to investigate and began the insurance repair process. They established that the leak was coming from a central heating pipe, where the copper and plastic-sheathed pipes were connected below the floor.
Understanding the problem
Because the leak didn’t initially produce a lot of visible damage, the insurance company were reluctant to pay out for the wooden flooring to be replaced.
However, Sarrani’s moisture readings showed that there was moisture trapped under the floor, which would have caused problems further down the line. The water was gradually escaping through gaps in the membrane and this was slowly damaging the wooden floor.
The damp experts sent out by the insurers had not spotted the trapped moisture and were claiming that the floor was dry. Sarrani argued the case, and after several meetings on site with the insurers’ appointed experts, the experts conceded that the floor did indeed need to be lifted.
Understanding insurers and loss assessment
Sarrani’s expertise meant they were able to fight Karen’s corner to ensure she was awarded the settlement she was entitled to, in addition to carrying out the remedial works required to restore her property.
“Sarrani knew exactly how the insurance company wanted the paperwork and claim laid out, so they helped enormously simply by getting that right for us. I wouldn’t have had a clue and might have stumbled or stalled the claim,” says Karen.
“And because the damage wasn’t immediately visible, there was a lot of back and forth with the insurance company, so Sarrani really helped us fight for what we were entitled to. It was only once the doors on the ground floor started to catch, because the water had caused them to swell, that the insurance company acknowledged the extent of the damage. If it hadn’t been for Sarrani persisting on our behalf, we’d have probably given up.”
Whole range of services
Although Sarrani primarily concentrate on work associated with insurance claims, they also carry out work contracted and paid for directly by clients. Alongside the agreed insurance repairs, Karen decided to use Sarrani’s contractors to help with a kitchen refit because they were already working on site.
“Our kitchen is on a mezzanine immediately above the ground floor, so it made sense to have the work done at the same time and to use the same contractors,” explains Karen. “We knew they were doing a great job of the insurance repair and we wanted the same wooden flooring in the new kitchen as the replacement floor downstairs. So, we contracted them to rip out the existing kitchen and do all the preparation work for the kitchen fitters.”
Sarrani’s contractors carried out a substantial amount of electrical work and rewiring. They fitted spotlights above the work surface and an overhead light at the breakfast bar, as well as moving the hob, cooker hood and refrigerator, all of which needed new wiring. They also made sure the lights could be switched on and off in the kitchen itself – previously the only switches were inconveniently located downstairs.
As well as the electrical work, they also did plumbing preparatory work and built a false wall in the kitchen to give a better run along the work surface.
Responsive and rapid
What stood out for Karen during both the insurance repair and the kitchen refit was how responsive Sarrani’s team were, especially when things happened beyond their control that needed fixing.
Various issues with the kitchen fitting meant that Sarrani’s contractors were called in to carry out some additional, unexpected electrical and plumbing work. For example, some wrong measurements by the kitchen fitters meant that the false wall needed extending further than initially planned, so that the cooker hood and splash-back were aligned properly with the hob.
“They just got on with it and responded really quickly,” says Karen. “They were very reactive when there were urgent issues and tight deadlines. They dealt well with a crisis.”
Highly recommended
Karen was so impressed with Sarrani’s work – both for getting her the money she was entitled, as well as doing the repair work and going above and beyond with support for her kitchen refit – that she has already recommended the team twice. “I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them and already have, and I’ll be using Sarrani again in future.”
Photos of the work carried out at Karen’s property can be accessed be seen in our Gallery.
