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I was keen to sort it informally, because going to the insurance route is likely to be protracted and agonising for everyone, for fairly small beer (about £6ks worth of stuff, really).
But yeah. Contractor is also a member of an association that offers mediation / complaints resolution. I have that route too, if the insurance company is funny.
Howard-
It sounds like you're covered in terms of being able to get it sorted. There are other options too, for example the small claims court has its own track for disputes around building but is also protected and agonising.
Have you told the contractor that you would like to sort it informally but are willing to look at other options? It may sound a bit odd but customers deliberately finding fault to try and avoid paying or claw back money is a fairly common occurrence. I'm not implying that this is the case here but some contractors assume that this is what's happening every time they have to deal with a situation like yours.
Bobbo
Did you notify your insurance that you were having work done?
Did you check that the contractor has an insurance policy in place to cover accidental damage to your property?
It sounds like this is something that is best left to insurance companies and therefore your best course of action would be to speak to yours. However, some insurance companies are funny about handling claims regarding building work if they were not notified prior to work starting.
When I say funny I mean total cunts who will try to avoid dealing with it or paying out.