When property damage disrupts your home or business, dealing with your insurer can quickly become stressful. PCLA act as your independent Loss Assessor in Craigavon, representing you—not your insurer—and managing your insurance claim from start to finish.
FCA regulated • No Win, No Fee (10% + VAT) • 270+ five-star reviews
You have damage at home and you need to make an insurance claim. You may have already spoken to your insurer, or you may be at the very beginning of the process, trying to understand what to do next.
Most homeowners in Craigavon do not know they can appoint their own expert before the claim begins — before the insurer sends anyone to assess the property, before any scope of works is agreed, and before any figure is put on the table. That is what PCLA does. We are independent loss assessors. Our surveyors attend properties across Craigavon, Portadown, Lurgan, and the wider area in person. Our job is to make sure your claim is properly prepared from the start.
Thinking about making a claim? Speak to PCLA first. Fair claims start here.
PCLA acts exclusively for the homeowner. Our work on a claim covers three things:
Assess the claim.
We attend your property, look at the cause and extent of the damage, and review the policy position. We tell you what the claim is likely to involve, what your policy may cover, and where the points of difficulty are likely to be.
Evidence the damage.
We document the damage with photographs, moisture readings, and technical reports. Where hidden damage is suspected — under floors, behind plasterboard, inside wall cavities — we carry out the survey work needed to establish the true extent before any scope of works is agreed
Negotiate the settlement.
We prepare and submit the claim, handle all correspondence with your insurer and any loss adjuster they appoint, respond to queries, and negotiate the settlement on your behalf.
You do not manage paperwork, meet the insurer’s assessor, or negotiate the figure. We handle that for you.
A homeowner in Craigavon noticed damage to low-level wall plaster in the hallway and suspected a hidden leak within the property. A leak detection specialist attended and traced the source to a hot water pipe embedded within the concrete floor slab of the hallway.
Once the leak was confirmed and the pipe repaired, the full extent of the moisture spread became apparent. Water had been escaping under pressure beneath the floor slab and had spread throughout a large proportion of the property, affecting floor coverings, wall plaster, wall tiles, internal decoration, and multiple adjoining areas.
This type of claim — involving pipework embedded within a concrete floor — is one of the more technically demanding categories of escape-of-water claim. Concrete floor slabs are extensively used in properties built from the post-war period onwards, particularly in the new town developments of the 1960s and 1970s. Where heating or hot water pipework is buried within the slab, faults can develop slowly over time without any visible sign until the damage has already spread through a significant area of the ground floor. By the time the source is located, reinstatement is often required throughout several rooms.
We attended the property, carried out a comprehensive moisture survey of all affected areas, documented the full extent of the damage, and prepared a detailed schedule of reinstatement works covering flooring, plasterwork, tiling, decoration, and all structural drying requirements.
The claim was settled for £32,817.50.
Case details shared with permission of the policyholder.
A client's Lurgan semi-detached home suffered severe fire damage to the kitchen. PCLA assessed the damage, liaised with insurers, and oversaw the restoration work. The outcome: the client received everything they were entitled to.
A client noticed ceiling stains in their Craigavon bungalow caused by a hidden leak. PCLA deployed leak detection experts, identified the problem, and managed the insurance claim. The outcome: the client received everything they were entitled to.
A client experienced flooding from a faulty appliance in their Portadown terraced house. PCLA documented the water damage, handled all insurer communications, and secured a full settlement. The outcome: the client received everything they were entitled to.
*based on Google reviews
Craigavon was developed as a new town from the 1960s onwards, and much of its housing stock reflects that era of construction — including the use of concrete floor slabs, underfloor heating pipework, and building methods that are now several decades old. The area also includes the established towns of Portadown and Lurgan, with their own older housing stock, as well as more recent private development. This mix of building ages and construction types means that claims across the Craigavon area can present a range of specific considerations.
Pipework in concrete floor slabs.
Properties built in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s frequently have mains water or heating pipework buried within concrete floor slabs. This was a common building method of the period. As these properties age and the pipework within the slabs deteriorates, failures can occur that are not detectable without specialist equipment. The first visible sign is often damage to wall plaster or skirting boards at low level, some distance from the actual failure point, by which time moisture may have spread beneath the slab across a significant area.
Drying requirements in solid floor construction.
Where moisture has saturated a concrete floor slab, the drying process takes considerably longer than in a property with a suspended timber floor. Moisture is absorbed into the slab itself and into the surrounding masonry, and a properly managed drying programme — with monitoring to confirm adequate moisture levels before reinstatement — can take a number of weeks. It is important that the scope of claim includes the full drying requirements before reinstatement can proceed.
Portadown and Lurgan older housing stock.
The older residential areas of Portadown and Lurgan include Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing, pre-war semis, and inter-war estates. These properties have their own characteristics — older drainage systems, original or partially replaced pipework, and traditional building materials — that require different considerations in a claim.
Flood risk areas.
Parts of the Craigavon area, including low-lying land near the River Bann and Lough Neagh, can be at risk from surface water and river flooding in periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall. Where flood damage is involved, the claim management process differs from standard escape-of-water claims, with different considerations around contamination, drying, and alternative accommodation.
We handle property insurance claims for homeowners, landlords, and commercial property owners across Craigavon, Portadown, Lurgan, and the surrounding area. Claim types include:
If your claim type is not listed here, contact us and we will tell you whether we can help.
The earlier you involve a loss assessor, the more useful they can be. The best point to make contact is before you report the claim to your insurer, or at least before any assessment or survey has taken place on the insurer’s behalf.
Once a loss adjuster has attended and an initial scope of works has been agreed, it becomes harder to revisit areas that were not properly documented at the outset. If you contact us before that stage, we can ensure the damage is fully recorded, the claim is properly prepared, and you are in the best possible position from the start.
If a claim is already under way, or if you feel the settlement offer you have received does not reflect the full extent of the damage, we may still be able to help. Contact us and we will advise you on the position.
PCLA works on a No Win, No Fee basis. There is no upfront cost to appointing us. Our fee is typically 10% + VAT of the final settlement, agreed with you in writing before we begin. If the claim does not succeed, you do not pay. How our fees work
This means you can appoint your own expert from the start without having to find funds before the claim is resolved.
We attend homes and businesses across:
When your home is damaged, you have questions. We have the answers. Here’s how we provide clarity and control to homeowners in the Craigavon, Lurgan, and Portadown areas during a stressful insurance claim.
A loss adjuster is appointed by your insurer to assess the claim on their behalf. A loss assessor is independent and acts for you, the policyholder. You are entitled to appoint your own loss assessor — the difference between a loss assessor and a loss adjuster is worth understanding before your claim begins.
No. PCLA works on a No Win, No Fee basis. There is no upfront charge and no cost unless the claim succeeds. Our fee is typically 10% + VAT of your settlement, agreed in writing before you appoint us. How our fees work
Yes, in most cases. If your claim is already under way but you are not satisfied with how it is progressing, or if the settlement offered does not reflect the full extent of the damage, contact us and we will advise you on the position.
Yes. We cover the full Craigavon borough including Portadown, Lurgan, Brownlow, and surrounding areas.
Properties of that era that have original copper pipework buried within floor slabs can be at greater risk of slow-developing failures as the pipework ages. If you notice any unexplained damp at low level, swelling skirting boards, or lifting floor edges, it is worth investigating before the damage develops further. Contact us and we will advise you on the best approach.
You can still appoint PCLA. The loss adjuster acts for the insurer; you are entitled to your own representation. We will liaise with the loss adjuster on your behalf.
If you have property damage and you are thinking about making a claim, speak to us before the process begins. We will tell you what your claim is likely to involve, whether your policy is likely to respond, and how we can help.
There is no charge for the initial conversation and no obligation to proceed.
Fair claims start here.
FCA regulated • No Win, No Fee (10% + VAT) • 270+ five-star reviews
