Jump to content

MicheleFloyd

Registered Users

Change your profile picture
  • Posts

    39
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by MicheleFloyd

  1. Insurance depends on such things as utmost good faith. If you do not disclose a material fact when asked directly, you are not acting in utmost good faith and therefore entering into a contract with you is not advisable. In my experience, criminal convictions are often looked at on a case by case basis, ie how much time has passed and circumstances.
  2. Hello. Sorry to hear this. Now that the insurer has paid a claim, they are keeping the full premium. This is a very normal practice. Their costs to handle your claim probably exceed your annual premium anyway. Unfortunately, since you've cancelled they are not prepared to accommodate you to pay on credit. Really, your beef is probably with the insurer instead of Equity. It's probable that Equity is on the hook for your entire annual premium and are therefore contacting you. Still, my opinion is the insurer or broker is acting fairly, though I fully appreciate the inconvenience some apparent con artist has caused!
  3. Jon, I completely appreciate you want to do the best for this consumer, but let's consider this further. If the shell design was purchased off the high street and is now obsolete, the insured has no choice but to choose comparable alternatives. Most household insurance policies attach special wording in these instances. And even if they didn't, the courts won't look at anything that isn't reasonable. Obsolete decor is far from uncommon. If it fits the definition of an antique, it's probably excluded anyway, unless the insured SPECIFICALLY asked for cover. To leave this on a positive note, I would stress again that when I buy an insurance policy, I walk through my whole house and consider what are the most tangible, important things to me. If it were my matching bathroom fixtures, for instance, I'd put that concern in writing to my agent or broker. If it makes you feel better, I put this query to the most senior person I know, and he said the same thing.
  4. This is probably not going to be a strict case of indemnity. The first party's insurer typically restricts cover for matching sets in their wording, and I'll bet it's because of situations like these. You must remember the claim has to be reasonable.
  5. There might be something in your policy wording about matching furniture and decor that limits the cover in this respect. Please have a careful read. I am a little confused. Are you saying that you would be satisfied with replacing the accessories from a high street chain as long as they match the toilet and sink? My opinion is that if your accessories were not custom-made originally, you are not owed custom-made shell motif accessories now. Could you please clarify this? Secondly, you are owed indemnity (or reinstatement) but you must be reasonable. If the bathroom accessories are now out-of-date and no longer available for purchase, then you must accept comparable alternatives. If that personally appalls you, then you should have asked for a specified items cover. This advice is given because you say your own insurer is picking up the initial costs.
  6. What I can divulge is what my company does in the event of nondisclosure. They present the matter to the underwriting manager who makes a decision as to whether we would have declined the risk or applied terms. If the latter, we do not look to reject the claim for nondisclosure. The only problem is, what insurers can do and what they will do are two different matters.
  7. Picking up on a minor point you made... Are you a teacher or professor? Why would they exclude the laptop for occasional schoolwork? Please tell me you're not a student. If you are a teacher by trade, it would be unallocated, unpaid work so I'm stunned to hear it would be classed as business use. Is there some part of the story we're missing? The FSA has worked wonders in favour of the Consumer but I do believe the quality of your insurer makes a difference as to whether they look to always apply the narrowest definition of the policy wording possible. They can get away with it if it's across the board and clearly stated beforehand.
  8. This sounds like a nightmare. What I would do is ask the insurer on what grounds would they reject your application for insurance. Why would they not have applied terms or increased premium instead? Once received you could then take it to the ombudsman. Failing that, dragging it out might make them change their mind. I don't know what your position is but let's assume they realise you can't get blood out of a turnip. In that case you might offer them a settlement (like they would if the tables were turned) but that would be after all other efforts had been exhausted. Like others have said, try to see what legal aid you can obtain ASAP.
  9. As I understand it, you never had to vacate your property so do not expect too much in the way of compensation. If I were handling your claim I would offer no more than £50 initially and set my maximum at £75 for stress, but I throw that figure out there without knowing ANY real details of your claim. Secondly, I am not a solicitor by any means, but I would not bother with taking your case to small claims court, unless the insurer rejected your claim or you incurred uncompensated, significant financial loss. Do you have a designated contact person for your claim? Are they responsive to your plight?
  10. Hi intree, sorry for the delay. Why do they cite wear and tear? Did they find that the age of the stains did not match, meaning that the sofa had been stained more than once? Did the adjuster find a perfect couch other than that one food spillage incident?
  11. Mitigating potential damage should never jeopardize your cover. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I truly hope your claim has progressed with due speed.
  12. As far as I am aware, it is the insured's responsibility to review the wording and schedule for terms and conditions of the contract. It's only when such T&Cs change that proper notice must be given.
  13. It's entirely possible as a one off, but on average insurance companies benefit from using preferred suppliers. There are battalions of people employed by insurers and loss adjusters who monitor how expensive preferred suppliers invoices are.
  14. I am sorry to hear that the handling of your claim has been such a headache to you. The one thing I can say is that do not mistake incompetence with malice. There could be a number of reasons why your claim has not proceeded with due speed. Telephone tomorrow and ask for the procedure to make a formal complaint from the first person who answers the telephone. Follow the procedure and make a request for compensation (due to the stress and inconvenience you have suffered) in your letter. Forgive me for asking but why have you given CL so long to handle this? Have you tried complaining to your insurer about lack of service?
  15. Insurance premiums are on the rise in some markets and I'm afraid you're a likely victim. By all means shop around and see what's out there. If anything it will give you peace of mind that you're getting the best deal. Despite what you were told, there's a chance your premium would have increased anyway. Chances are a customer service representative will not know the true reason. Because no one can force you to renew a policy, the insurer can use virtually whatever reason they want to seek a rate increase. Most people cannot retain their losses, so they are compelled to make a claim for relatively small sums that often result in long term premium increases. Because you claimed for your £250 excess, the insurance company has perhaps latched onto that reason for seeking a rate hike. It's a pickle but at least you have a choice in who you go with. Loyalty to insurers doesn't seem to count for as much as it used to do.
  16. What level of cover do you have? New for old or indemnity? If indemnity, then what you tell makes some sense. Secondly, did the adjuster take photos? Do you still have the sofa?
  17. I sincerely hope that everything is sorted for you now. Basically, claims involving water ingress are not as straightforward as they may seem. There are some who make no effort to maintain their roofs and then submit claims for water damage. The insurance company is only going to make payment on claims that are fortuitous, and they have every right to make certain that is the case before they promise to pay for repairs. Without having any idea what your situation is, I can tell you that some plastic sheeting and a few nails temporarily stops water damage. These are reasonable steps to take whilst your insurance cover is being investigated.
  18. Insurance is and always has been a grey area. No one can give you a definite answer. If we made it more black & white, we wouldn't be able to be so flexible with what we offer and more would suffer than benefit. Your question wasn't easy, though I agree conflicting advice was given. Are criminal charges pending? Do his insurers want a little more information about what he was on that night? If he can't or won't admit to the accident, it becomes a situation where a case with physical evidence must be gathered and proven. That simply takes longer. I would reiterate that if you only have TP insurance, you should not expect your insurer to chase this for you. It's not a service you purchased so if I were you, I'd get to proving my case and chasing the matter up myself.
  19. I was just going to respond when I noticed Big Rob posted this in September! So if you're still seeking an answer then let us know. Other than that, I would say: Jump through a couple of the insurance company's hoops (via their claims handlers) and after that demand a decision. If they have serious concerns they'll risk digging deeper or even rejecting the claim alltogether. That kind of thing costs money so it's not a decision taken lightly by a reputable insurer like Aviva. A phone call to their Customer Service Unit tends to straighten out any grey areas. Unless they have something tangible on you, they'll probably pay when you first challenge them to make a decision.
  20. If the contents insurers have found cover for this loss then you might as well keep dealing with them until they've truly made the situation impossible for you. Flooring is a little bit of a grey area. You are always going to be responsible for your excess, of course. If you want the exact same flooring as before, there should be no reason why they would not agree to this. All you need to do is make certain the evidence is on the claim handler's desk. The insurer can't arrange repairs for you as it is your choice. They can only authorise their preferred contractors to deal with you on the assumption the insurer has agreed to cover payment. For this the insurer pays less than sticker price but also has a guarantee that the repairs will be in order. It's usually a smooth process as the repairer deals directly with the insured when the authorised amount is too small to cover the bill. Choosing your own repairer outside the insurer's network is fine, but keep in mind the repairs are not guaranteed so if they mess it up, the insurer is not going to pay more money to make it right. You'll need to investigate whether you have trace and access cover. Some insurance policies include this but the majority do not, as far as I know. It makes perfect sense to stop the leak before you replace the floors. Hopefully the leak itself is covered, but don't count on it.
  21. If you want your own insurance company to recover your excess, it's going to handled as part of the subrogation process. You're getting in a queue that's probably a mile long, and they'll get to your case if and when they can. That's their right because they don't owe you for the excess. They're doing it as a courtesy to you. The third party's insurer can't *just* refund your excess without admitting liability for all of your insurer's costs. So to answer your question, chase the third party insurer and do like was recommended, threaten them with small claims court by recorded delivery, naming a reasonable time for them to get back to you. Provide as much information as you can to support your case, even if you have already submitted it. Best of luck! People who don't own up to accidents are despicable. I hope if the third party in this case is at fault, they own up to it.
  22. Hi, Sorry to hear about your loss. Can you answer the following - Is your new flooring an exact match to what you had before? If not, is it better quality than what you had before? The insurance company is only going to indemnify you. If you want better, then the difference in pricing is yours to make up. But let's assume you tried to pick out something comparable to your old flooring. In that case, phone your claims handler and ask them to speak to the vendor, or better yet, try to convince the vendor to phone the insurance company for you to negotiate an agreed price. Tell the vendor that you would prefer to deal with them, but that you have been shopping around for other quotes. If you have the time, and/or feel like the vendor is messing you about, go get some free quotes from another couple of companies. Send the quotes in to show that the flooring quote from their preferred vendor is fair. The claims handler needs this kind of evidence to increase their reserve for your claim. Hope this helps!
  23. Sounds like an E&O claim at best, but you have to have cooperative brokers to be successful, IMHO. Can I suggest the next time you take down the broker's email and summarize your conversations from now on, as in - As per our conversation, this policy will cover accidental damage, as described in my example to you blah blahblah Then he'll have to properly research it and come back to you with the real deal, or you have the evidence for future claims. But make certain he does come back to you by email that he confirms such and such is true. This goes for any cover of particular concern to you. With that said, keep in mind it's your responsibility to read your policy wording and schedule at every renewal or adjustment. I know, this advice comes inconveniently late.
  24. Read your policy wording. Is there a minimum security condition? If you don't have your policy wording, request it from the adjusters.
×
×
  • Create New...