When your property is damaged - from water, fire, storms, or flooding - limiting the spread and protecting your property is usually the top priority. Once that’s taken care of, no doubt you’ll be wanting the repair work to start as soon as possible.
Many homeowners believe that once they notify their insurer of the damage, all of the hard work is handed over and the repair process will be fully managed by the insurance company.
In reality, it’s a bit more nuanced. While insurers often recommend or appoint their own contractors, choosing who carries out the repairs before the claim is finalised can make a significant difference in both the quality of the work and your overall experience.
By engaging a specialist, independent, insurance-aware repair contractor early in the process, you can ensure your repairs are properly scoped, compliant with insurer requirements, and focused on long-term reinstatement, rather than a “race to the bottom” on pricing.
In this blog, we’ll explain the risks associated with insurer-appointed contractors and highlight why finding and working with your own contractor might be the best way to go, along with providing some practical guidance for navigating the insurance repair process.
In short, no — you don’t have to go with the contractor that’s been suggested by your insurer, although a lot of homeowners aren’t aware this is an option. Whilst some policies may include “right to repair” clauses, many allow you as the homeowner to choose alternative arrangements, as long as the repairs are accurately priced up, meet insurer standards, and are properly documented.
One of the main challenges is that this right to choose isn’t always clearly explained. Homeowners can often feel pressured to accept insurer-appointed repairs without understanding the other options that are available to them.
Checking policy wording and seeking advice early can make a big difference. Engaging a specialist contractor before the claim is finalised helps to ensure all of the repair options are fully explored and properly documented, giving you more control over the outcomes. Looking for a trusted insurance repair specialist with 17+ years of experience reinstating damaged properties? We’ll provide an insurer-ready scope and quote, at no cost to you. Get in touch to book your free survey.
It’s not that insurer-approved contractors are automatically less skilled or more unreliable. They’re often competent tradespeople, but it’s the system they work within - the system designed by the insurers - that opens repairs up to more risk.
Insurers prioritise cost control and the fast closure of claims — often sacrificing thorough damage assessment and long-term repair quality. And it’s those priorities of efficiency, speed, and low costs that their approved contractors ultimately work by.
Insurer-approved contractor networks are designed to manage large volumes of claims consistently. Contractors will often be expected to work within fixed pricing structures and predefined scopes of work, with success measured by speed and compliance. Essentially, they’re expected to work at discounted rates in return for high volumes of work, or even pay fees or levies on the work they receive. While this approach may help insurers to control costs, it doesn’t always align with the individual needs of a specific property or project, or the expectations of a homeowner who wants their home safely and properly restored.
For homeowners, the risk is in assuming that “approved” automatically means “best for my situation.” In reality, appearing on the insurer’s “approved” list confirms that a contractor meets insurer criteria — not that they will necessarily challenge limited scopes, investigate and repair hidden damage, or prioritise quality workmanship and long-term property reinstatement.
When you’ve suffered property damage from an insured peril, it’s your insurer’s obligation to settle the claim in accordance with your policy so that your property can be returned to its pre-loss condition. This process includes a few key steps:
You’ll be expected to contact your insurer as soon as possible to make them aware of the damage to your property.
At this point, it’s common for the insurer to ask you to gather some quotes for the repairs. To do this, you’ll need someone (usually a builder) to come and assess the damage so that they can prepare a scope of work and provide a quote for the repairs.
Any damage caused - visible and hidden - needs to be properly assessed and documented before your claim can be submitted to the insurer.
An insurance repair contractor who’s committed to quality-led repairs will take the time to investigate the damage properly, address root causes, and use appropriate materials and methods to complete the reinstatement. While this may extend the repair timelines slightly, it significantly reduces the risk of recurring problems and disputes.
Once the extent of the damage (and loss) is fully understood, you can then reach out to other builders and gather comparison quotes, running through the same procedure of assessing the damage and the cause.
It’s worth noting that homeowners can often struggle to find more than one builder willing to provide a quote for insurance repairs, as the quote takes time to prepare and won’t always lead to a job for them. However, if you use a contractor that can produce a detailed, insurer-ready quote with a clear breakdown of costs, it’s likely that your insurer won’t request a second quote from another contractor.
Usually, once you’ve got some quotes ready to share with the insurer, they’ll then propose one of three options:
Insurer-appointed contractors are often presented as the easiest option because they involve less immediate decision-making for you as the homeowner. However, ease at the outset doesn’t always translate into the best long-term outcome.
Understanding how each option works - and where responsibility and accountability sit - is essential before any work begins.
It’s important to acknowledge that using an insurer-approved contractor can be a convenient pathway to getting your property repaired following a disaster. Contractors on your insurer’s “approved” list have usually been pre-vetted, are familiar with internal processes, and are able to bill the insurer directly. For homeowners dealing with all the disruption and stress that comes with major property damage, this can feel like they’re getting a big task ticked off their to-do list.
That convenience, however, often requires you to sacrifice control and flexibility. When using an insurer-appointed contractor, you may have limited involvement in decisions about the materials being used, the methods of repair, or the sequencing of your repair work. It’s also key to note that communication may be filtered through insurer systems, meaning requests for additional investigations or higher-spec finishes can be difficult to progress if they fall outside of the approved scope.
The key issue here is not that the convenience of an insurer-approved service is inherently bad, but that homeowners are rarely told what they might be giving up in exchange for it. By engaging a specialist contractor like Action Insurance Repair early in the process, you can retain some level of control over how the repairs are scoped and carried out from the offset.
When using your own contractor, there may also be opportunities to carry out additional work, reconfigure layouts, or incorporate alternative finishes — whereas an insurer-approved contractor will only be able to repair the property back to the way it was before the damage.
One of the most important (and least understood) aspects of insurance repairs is who the contractor is actually working for. Whilst a lot of homeowners are under the impression that the contractor (and the insurer) are working on their behalf, unfortunately this usually isn’t the case.
Whilst yes, it is the insurer’s responsibility to make sure your property is reinstated, they’re also likely to query scopes of work and try to bring the cost down at every opportunity. Meanwhile, insurer-approved contractors are contractually aligned to the insurer; their ongoing relationship, future work opportunities, and commercial obligations ultimately sit with the insurance company, not with you as the policyholder.
When it comes to insurance repairs, this alignment often ends up influencing priorities. Contractors who rely on steady insurer work may be reluctant to challenge limited scopes, push for additional investigations into hidden damage, or recommend any works that might increase costs. Even where additional damage is suspected, there can be subtle pressure to keep the works within the agreed scope rather than advocate for a broader approach to repairs that might deliver better outcomes in the long term.
It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean insurer-approved contractors act in bad faith. What it does mean, however, is that their incentives tend to be different from those of a homeowner whose primary concern is restoring their home fully and correctly — a goal any independent insurance repair specialist will be aligned with.
Working with a contractor who shares your goal of getting back to normal while doing the job right ensures accountability and advocacy from the very beginning.
When it comes to home insurance repairs, there’s a key distinction to be made between approval and accountability. Insurer approval confirms that a contractor is authorised to carry out work under certain terms, while accountability determines who takes responsibility if the work isn’t up to scratch or the outcome falls short.
With insurer-managed repairs, accountability can become unclear once a claim is closed. If problems emerge weeks or months after the work’s been completed - such as mould, loose fixtures, or recurring leaks - homeowners may find themselves being bounced around between their insurer and their contractor, with each pointing to completed scopes or closed files.
On the other hand, when a contractor is directly accountable to the homeowner (while still working within insurer requirements) and there is a contract that protects both parties, responsibility for workmanship, communication, and aftercare is clearer. This clarity alone can significantly reduce the risk of unresolved issues.
Let’s use an example to illustrate how these risks can play out. A homeowner experiences escape-of-water damage and accepts insurer-approved repairs. The visible damage is repaired, and the claim is closed. Drying and investigation are limited, but no immediate problems are apparent.
Several months later, mould develops behind walls, flooring begins to fail, or floor tiles begin to debond. At this point, the insurer considers the original claim resolved. The contractor may argue that the new issue falls outside their completed works. The homeowner is left trying to demonstrate a link between the original damage and the current problem, often without the documentation or support needed to do so.
What began as a straightforward claim has now become a prolonged and stressful situation — not because of the damage itself, but because the repair process prioritised speed and closure over accuracy and thoroughness.
Accepting a cash settlement can give you greater control over your repairs, allow you to choose who carries out the work and how it’s managed. However, the responsibility of scoping the work and managing the cost of repairs will also fall on your shoulders.
Without professional assessment, it’s easy to underestimate the extent of damage or the anticipated cost of repairs. And if the actual cost of repairs ends up higher than the insurer’s settlement, you’ll need to cover the difference from your own pocket.
When you work with the right team, accepting a cash settlement can be a great way to go. You’ll have the freedom to carry out the repairs using your chosen contractors, suppliers, or materials, and with a free service like ours, you’ll receive expert support throughout every step of the process, from quote to completion.
Ready to learn more about our services? Get in touch with our team today.
It’s important to remember that choosing your own contractor does not automatically guarantee a better outcome. The contractor’s experience with insurance claims is absolutely critical, and without this experience, they may end up producing quotes or scopes of work that your insurer challenges, leading to delays and disputes.
A specialist insurance repairs partner like Action Insurance Repair understands how to balance quality workmanship with insurer expectations. We know how to document damage, justify the necessary works, and communicate effectively with loss adjusters. Bringing our team on board from the offset helps to ensure your repairs are approved smoothly and completed to a high standard, all at no cost to you.
If you feel uncertain about insurer-approved repairs, raising questions early is essential. Understanding who will carry out the work, how experienced they are with insurance repairs, and who will be accountable for the outcome can help to clarify whether the arrangement is right for you. Whichever path you take, it’s good practice to make sure everything is documented, so be sure to ask for copies of reports or your scope of work before the repairs begin.
Remember: you have a right to choose, and you should feel comfortable requesting alternative options, seeking independent advice, or involving a specialist repair partner before your claim is accepted and the works commence. Being proactive at this stage can prevent far greater stress later down the line, and ensures your home is properly protected from the start.
The risk of insurer-approved contractors is not about bad actors or flawed intentions. It’s about understanding how insurance repair systems work, where priorities lie, and how those priorities can affect the outcome of your home repairs.
By recognising that not all repair options deliver the same results, homeowners can make more informed choices that prioritise quality, accountability, and long-term performance/protection. Engaging a specialist, insurer-aware repair contractor early can help to ensure all damage is properly assessed, repairs are accurately scoped, and reinstatement is carried out to the standard you and your home deserve.
If you’re dealing with a property damage claim and want clarity on your repair options before committing to an insurer-approved contractor, speaking to an experienced insurance repair specialist can make all the difference. A quality-led partner can work alongside your insurer, ensure repairs meet policy requirements, and advocate for a thorough, long-lasting outcome — helping you avoid unnecessary stress, delays, or repeat issues later down the line.
Get started on the right foot. Book your free survey with our team today.