Hi all site is great and comes highly recommended by my work mates

My sister has a dilemma and is looking for some urgent help.

She took out a new home and contents insurance policy with esure in Oct 2008 as she was under a lot of stress at the time divorce / loss of job etc failed to mention 2 previous claims some 3 years ago. when the documentation came in the post automatically signed them and sent them back.

(To cut a long story short) She than had a pipe burst during the cold spell notified the insurance company of the burst pipe and registered a claim. damaged flooring / furniture / wall

After previous discussions with the company trying to clarify the situation

thay have finally come back and said that thay are cancelling the policy due to non disclosure of previous claims/ thay have returned the amount paid into the policy.

Can they do this and is this common practice

what does she do now to get home and contents insurance .

They can do, yes, BUT (at least this used to be the case)...

1. They would have to show that they would not have taken on the policy had they known of the claims OR

2. They have reasonable belief that there was fraudulent misrepresentation (that your sister deliberately withheld such info).

If neither is true, then best practice would be to require a premium increase (the amount they would charge you had they known of the past claims). I would write to them and ask for their specific reason, as well as checking the policy documentation, but I suspect what I said in 1 is the reason.

thanks for the information

what does she have to do now.

Will she be refused insurance for the non disclosure

or will it be a case of paying higher premiums

will she struggle to find insurance cover.:?

Some insurers have limits on how many claims in x years they accept. I'm not too sure what they are, but there will be a few that will not accept more than 2 in three years. Obtaining insurance may be a bit more difficult but not impossible.

I assume this is innocent non-disclosure (i.e, your sister forgot and did not deliberately omit the info). As such, it should not be a problem in the future. You do need to mention this to future insurers.

Premiums will be higher with claims. how much depends on the insurer - it's a case of phoning round and getting quotes.

In terms of the insurer she was with, she could ask if the policy can be reinstated if she pays higher premiums, but I would think their actions suggest they will not.

Also bare in mind that your sister will not be able to claim for this damage with any other insurer.

It may be worth asking the insurer for a written explanation (if not already received) and if you think what they have done is wrong (i.e, against their own policy and T&Cs - say, for example, they accept 5 claims in 3 years), then it may be worth a complaint to them and then to the FOS. It is a long shot though.

has any one had similar experience and able to recommend a insurance company

thanks

I assume this is innocent non-disclosure (i.e, your sister forgot and did not deliberately omit the info). As such, it should not be a problem in the future. You do need to mention this to future insurers.

Will she not fall faoul of the question "Have you ever had an insurance refused?

I used to ask the reason and make a decision from there. If it was something "correctable", such as non-disclosure which has subsequently been disclosed, then I would accept subject to normal terms. However, I think I was the only person in the company with common sense.

We have been looking for new contents and buildings insurance over the last couple of days on t'internet.

Every one of them has a drop down menu saying when did you last make a claim and it shows 1, 2, 3, years etc.

I feel that insurance companies go out of their way not to pay out on a claim.

HH

We have been looking for new contents and buildings insurance over the last couple of days on t'internet.

 

Every one of them has a drop down menu saying when did you last make a claim and it shows 1, 2, 3, years etc.

 

I feel that insurance companies go out of their way not to pay out on a claim.

 

HH

If you make a claim,why not keep a record of the date it was settled? That way, you won't forget about it when you go searching for quotes.