The plight of claims consultant Gary Lane's client is a vivid example of the difficulties faced by those insured with Independent Insurance, now in liquidation.
Lane, a partner in Insco, said he had a number of claims outstanding with Independent, the most serious of which involved a £450,000 listed mansion on the North Yorkshire moors.
The 22-room mansion was severely fire damaged in one room and smoke damaged throughout, with a number of valuable antiques written off completely.
The owner, a senior legal figure, and his wife are living in a studio cottage while repair work is done.
The one-room residence is too small to house his daughter, who has been forced to live with friends 20 miles away.
However, Lane said Independent had still been processing the claim, which was for more than £50,000 for the contents and £100,000 for the damage to the building, when it collapsed.
He said the contractors appointed by Independent's loss adjustors Property & Casualty Services had carried out about £25,000 worth of repairs but, faced with not being paid, had walked off the job.
With no certainty of payment, Lane cannot attract another contractor to finish the work.
Lane said he was now unsure where to turn, given that the insured would now have to wait an as-yet unknown length of time to be paid out by the Policyholders' Protection Board, and would then only receive 90% of his claim because it was not made under a compulso
