The Challenge

• A family of 2 adults and 2 children, both under the age of 10, from Bristol, had a fire in a semidetached 3 bedroom house. Subsequently, the bathroom and kitchen were unusable. The customer contacted us at 6pm, requiring immediate accommodation. 
• Due to lengthy repair times to the property, further accommodation and arrangements along the timeline of this instruction were needed to ensure the family had a place to stay. 
• On Day 3 of the claim the Loss Adjuster confirmed that the estimated repair time for the property would be 120 days.
• On day 100 the Loss Adjuster advised that due to drying taking longer than expected the repair will now take a total of 150 days to complete.

Our Solution

• We booked, pre-funded, and confirmed the temporary accommodation by SMS to the customer’s mobile within 30 minutes of receipt of the initial instruction. 
• In response to the Day 3 notice from the Loss Adjustor that the repair works would take 4 months, LSH’s relocation team selected four suitable long-term properties for the family and agreed these with the Adjustor.  Viewings were arranged on the customer’s behalf and our team immediately contacted the agent to secure the preferred property. Personal items (not smoke damaged) from the family’s original home were put into storage. The customer moved in to the new property 8 days after the original fire took place. 
• On day 100, when the notice was served that the drying out would take longer than anticipated, our team secured a 3 month extension to the property rental with no inconvenience to the customer. 
• All further repair work at the family’s home was continued; with works finishing 6 months after the fire damage was initially caused.
• Our team liased with the removal firm to return the personal effects back to the family home at the same time the customer vacated the rental property.

The Results

• The proactive nature of the works done by our relocation team in the immediate aftermath of the fire ensured that the family was not without accommodation and hence provided them some peace of mind in a highly stressful and upsetting situation.
• We utilised our network of contacts in the local area to secure property rentals, as well as furniture rentals and storage facilities.