Insurance Query

[daftada]

Hi, sorry if this should be posted elsewhere, please move if necessary. I was burgled on Sunday morning and have put a claim in with my home insurance company (homelet). The thieves got in through the front door which me and my housemates forgot to double-lock before we went to bed. Can anyone tell me if this will make our claim invalid? The claim total is less than a thousand pounds.

[gyzmo]

It may do depending on the wording on your policy. It may also depend on the circumstances. If it would not have mattered whether or not the double lock was on, then there should be no problem - that fact that it wasn't on in such a case is not material. Was there damage to the door or frame or was the door actually open? If it is a condition of your policy that the double lock is on whenever the house is vacant then they could decline.

[daftada]

When we took out the policy we gave details of our doors & windows, and said the front door had a double-lock. I can't see anywhere in the policy anything saying we must make sure the door is double-locked at all times. It says we must make sure the property is secure when it is vacant but we were in the house when the burglary occurred (if that makes a difference). Thanks for your help.

[buzby]

If it is double-locked, then often a flatmate cannot enter, so I agree that double-locking should only be necessary when the premises are unnoccupied. It will all hinge on the insurers exact requirements. I would expect that providing you have a police report, and there is evidence of forced entry, you should be OK.