Its a long one so I apologise in advance. Me and my fiancé went away for a romantic weekend in the lakes and on our last day we got the worst possible phone call ever. Our home had be broken into and our world came crashing down. This is not the worst part, The burglars had set the house on fire which was burned down to nothing but ashes and a crumbling shell.
I ask my question as our home insurance and police are investigating the attack to determine arson or accidental fire. so I am in the dark till then, as each investigation company says "we can not comment until investigation proceedings are complete".
We have complete cover from fire, theft, contents, accidental damages, criminal damages for the amount of £200,000 plus contents cover.
I only ask the question of a payout in lump sum as my fiancé does not feel safe in this area and fears it could happen again if we rebuild in the same area. we have tried to ask our insurance this but they will not comment until investigations are complete.
Is there anyone with knowledge in this subject or finance who could give me some advice or direction in which to proceed
Unfortunately without seeing your policy wordings no one here can give you a definite answer. Most Homeowner's policies work on the same principle that the house must be insured for it's replacement cost value (which I assume the £200,000 represents), however should you decide not to repair or rebuild the home the insurer is only liable to pay you the actual cash value of the home, which means replacement cost minus depreciation (so you'll be receiving way less than the £200,000 that's on your policy). If there is a mortgage on the property then the cheque would be made out to you and the mortgage company. You would then have to sign over the cheque to the mortgage company (they will not sign it over to you) who will then use the funds to pay off the balance of the mortgage. They will then send you any amount left over, however whatever municipality you're in probably has a bylaw which states a fire damaged home must be demolished and cleared of debris if it's damages beyond a certain percentage. This means you'll have to use what's left over to pay for a contractor to come in and clean up the site. I doubt whatever funds you'll have left will buy you much of anything. You'd be better off rebuilding and then selling.
My advice is to contact your broker/agent and discuss this with them as they have first hand knowledge of your policy. If you purchased your policy directly (i.e. online) then I'm afraid the best you can do is read your policy and figure it out yourself (which is why it pays to work with a broker/agent).
You might want to repost your question under answers international and click the flag below for UK.
This will all work itself out. It will just take time. I hope the insurance company is paying to put you in a hotel in the meantime.
Best of luck.
I can understand your fiance's aversion to staying in the area. I also think the insurers will continue decline to comment in any way until it is finalised as it would be unwise for them to do so.
Have you considered the possibility of a rebuild then selling asap?
If you opt for a lump sum (assuming you get the option) you will have to sell the land to a builder or developer which may not be as easy or profitable as selling a newly built house. Have a chat to an estate agent or two to examine both options.