Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Michael Woodhouse — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 23:00:52 GMT

[quote userid="7811" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/30323/any-experiences-with-smoke-damage-insurance-in-veterinary-surgeries/237765#237765"]To compound the week, I tested positive for covid on the Thursday, so wasn't even able to come in! [/quote]

Not strictly true

Good you got things sorted.

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Joyce Whitehead — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:03:02 GMT

Sorry to hear about the dreaded Covid, there is definitely a an upsurge again, hope you’re recovering well. And pleased to hear you don’t have to close, that’s very good news. Silver lining that you hadn’t just changed that flooring in those rooms!

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Julie Innes — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 14:47:39 GMT

Thanks Thomas! Gosh, poor cat!

To compound the week, I tested positive for covid on the Thursday, so wasn't even able to come in!

In case anyone else is ever in this position, we were advised to get service checks done on all our equipment in affected rooms- apparently electrical fires produce acidic smoke, which can corrode the insides of electrical units, so we've had to have all our anaesthetic machines/ xray machines/ developers/ blood analysers and computers examined! our oxygen concentrator will need replaced as the filters have been damaged. I hadn't really thought about potential damage, given that most things are working, but I guess it makes sense.

Our insurer is covering contents and my landlords is covering buildings. they have advised the floor needs replacing (I replaced most of the practice flooring last year, but ironically not these 2 rooms, which I planned to do later!), they have been cleaning today and the back of house will be getting decorated, so some silver linings...It doesn't look like we will be forced to close, at least!

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Thomas Johnson — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 16:55:21 GMT

[quote userid="7811" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/life-in-practice-discussions/30323/any-experiences-with-smoke-damage-insurance-in-veterinary-surgeries"]Has anyone been in this position before, and if so how did you work it? [/quote]

Several years ago someone set light to the bins outside the back door of our practice, which was in a covered carpark. The entire practice was covered in soot and our poor practice cat had to be put down due to smoke inhalation. We all mucked in and cleaned the place from top to bottom and re-opened the following day. I wasn't involved in the running of the practice then so I don't know what happened with the insurance claim, but it was a couple of months later before we shut for a few days so the suspended ceilings could be replaced and the walls painted. We have 2 other branches so were able to see patients elsewhere for those few days.

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Julie Innes — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 08:35:00 GMT

Unfortunately we don't have a car park, we're on a main street with on-road parking. Hopefully my insurance assessor will be a bit more positive. On one hand shiny new everything would be nice, but it's the time! It's also typical that I just redecorated the whole place (weeks of toil!!) and had new flooring laid just under a year ago

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Joyce Whitehead — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 17:46:05 GMT

Could you manage a portakabin in your car park if you have space? When we moved to our current premises, the builders hadn’t finished in time, so we coped with a couple of portakabins (and the office in our house which is near the surgery). Remember you’ll need to sort phone lines etc too. Huge sympathies, that sounds like a nightmare!

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Bob Russell — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:42:09 GMT

When we opened the front half of the building was quite smart but anyone going through the door in the middle would have had heart failure. It was a building site.

We got most routine things done but did not operate for a few days.

You need to talk through options with your insurance assessor (not theirs) to see what works for you.

Flooring and partitions etc tend to be your responsibility and should be insured as fixtures/fittings. Brick walls belong to the buildings insurance.

Ultimately your insurance company is likely to claim stuff back so may not be interested in the cheapest option.

Push for what suits you. Speed of clean up, decoration and checking equipment safety etc are your priorities.

Our local chippy caught fire and it took forever for the work to be agreed. Don't let them put you in this position. Speed matters!

Good luck!

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Julie Innes — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 14:21:14 GMT

Thanks guys! It's a bit confusing because my landlord owns the building (it is a shared building), but have my own contents insurance. Where does paint on the wall fit in, or flooring?

I'm really hoping we will be able to use at least some of the practice! What started as "there is some soot" is now becoming a nightmare! I do have business interruption cover, and will speak to my insurers tomorrow, but what happens to all my clients if I have to close? Neighbouring practices seem to be more than busy enough at the moment..

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Bob Russell — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:59:27 GMT

Talk to your own insurance assessor to get the real ins and outs of the claim process. It clearly is the neighbours insurance company picking up the tab but your company should be there to protect your (and their) interests.

Just make sure you discuss loss of income as it is inevitable that the disruption will have an impact.

You can be fairly sure the process will take twice the time you would expect. Can you offer a limited service from what is usable at the practice? Can you get someone in to do a deep clean in the short term? Can someone come out ASAP to give an opinion on serviceability of the equipment?

There may be a loss adjuster involved but they are there to minimise the cost rather than help you. They are not always particularly qualified so be prepared to challenge.

RE: Any experiences with smoke damage/ insurance in veterinary surgeries??

Jill Butterworth — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 13:15:11 GMT

Gosh, how awful for you, I can't offer much apart from sympathy and think insurers often sort this out amongst themselves. A friend had water damage to her house and was put up in a hotel for months. It might be worth having a good think about what you need to ask for so you can carry on working rather than being told what they will offer? You can't be shoved in any old office block. I have heard of people using mobile veterinary practices in these circumstances.