Burglary & confused

[Surfer01]

Insurance cover is always worked on a replacement value. To replace your current losses may cost more than £60,000 plus you still have the costs of replacing your household goods and clothes etc so it seems you were well under insured. Recently we had to claim to replace more than half the furniture in our home plus nearly all our clothes due to flooding and going through the claims procedure can be very stressful. Luckily our insurance covered it all, but what out a big dent in the claim was alternative accommodation costs.

You will get good advcei here so just hand in there and query everything. BTW when replacing anything, always keep receipts or copies.

[davekat]

Thanks ..

 

Do I need a personal loss adjustor.. Do the insurance companies like working with them ?

[honeybee13]

Exactly which L&G policy did you buy eg Essentials, Extra or Enhanced?

 

If you can post this, posters can have a read of the relevant policy booklet to see if it contains an "Averaging" or "Under Insurance" Clause.

 

Honeybee the policies that typically do not apply under Insurance are the policies aimed at High Net Customers eg Chubb and Hiscox etc.

 

The L&G policy might not have an averaging clause depending which contract it's on

 

Thank you for that clarification. It's beyond my experience.

 

HB

[unclebulgaria67]

Thanks ..

 

Do I need a personal loss adjustor.. Do the insurance companies like working with them ?

 

For a large claim it can be worth it, but you need to understand the fees they charge. I think they will either do it as a fixed fee or a percentage of the claim value. But you are probably looking at £1k+.

 

It is not a case of whether the Insurers like working for them. Any loss assessor you appoint will represent your interests and try to ensure that the claim is dealt with properly.

 

http://www.lossassessors.org/

 

Before you appoint your own assessor, you should see whether there is likely to be a problem with the claim settlement and if there is, then perhaps speak to a couple of assessors who are members of the institute (linked above).

[dacouc]

You may as well see what L&G propose before deciding about a Loss Assessor who will work for a set fee or more likely a percentage of circa 15% (Don't forget VAT will go on top), if you contact one now they are incredibly good at selling and will almost certainly sign you up when you may not need one as L&G may come good.

 

L&G are a good Insurer and deal with claims in a fair way.

 

If you decide to use a Loss Assessor bear in mind their fees are very negotiable due them being so high so be prepared for a hard sell but also be prepared to play them at their own game and haggle.

[davekat]

L&G called and have canceled the insurance. Said it was way under insured. Not sure what options I have.

 

Can I get a new home insurance.. ?

[dacouc]

You need to send them a letter by recorded delivery headed "Official Complaint" address to send this is in their policy.

 

Keep the letter concise and business like, briefly explain how the mistake happened and why it happened along with noting that having sought professional advice there is no under insurance clause contained in their policy and thus as a valid claim you expect the claim settled as per the policy. That should you not receive satisfaction your next step will be the media and the Insurance Ombudsman.

 

Note that the advice you sought feels due to the genuine mistake on your part and the lack of an under insurance clause that the Ombudsman will rule in your favour.

 

As a side note are they giving you 14 days written notice of the cancellation and have they mentioned a refund of premium.

 

Have they given an exact reason as to why they're cancelling eg fraud?

[Guest]

surely they would still deal with the claim (perhaps subject to the under insurance?) and not cancel retrospectively? or are they cancelling retrospectively?

Edited January 16, 2013 by Ford

[davekat]

The lady for L&G said they will cancel the policy from inception..

[Guest]

and so as to avoid the claim?

The lady for L&G said they will cancel the policy from inception..

[davekat]

yes

[unclebulgaria67]

Having read this thread now from the start, I can see why L&G have reached this decision. It is a case a gross deliberate under-insurance, as you seem to be aware of the value of items after a loss, but not at the time of arranging the Insurance. Had L&G been aware of the amount of jewellery, they probably would have insisted on a maintained alarm system and probably a safe. There would have been a minimum requirement for locks as well.

 

When L&G looked at this decision they would have referred to their underwriting guidelines that would have applied to the risk, had it been correctly stated when the policy was incepted. If the risk is totally different to what was originally stated and the basis of Insurance would have been totally different, then I can see why L&G have voided the policy.

 

You will have put in a complaint and battle it out with the Insurers, taking it to the FOS. In this situation, I think L&G will allow you to take it to the FOS and will not try to resolve beforehand.

[davekat]

If I try to be neutral , I can tottaly understand why L&G did what they did. But this was not deliberate. I just went with what was coming as the default content value at the time of web application and did not take enought time to read the fine print . Also you never think it can happen to you ..till the time it does. I honestly see no reason why I would save the extra 20 £ per month when I was already paying my life ins , critical and home ammounting to 70 £ .

Just our sheer bad luck and stupidity of not reading the print .. Atleast L&G should have paid what was covered by policy or atleast the electronics for which I provided the receipts.

[Guest]

thats one of the things was thinking about earlier, despite the underinsurance they may oblige re the sum insured, subject to the underins, seeing as thats what you have paid the premiums on. but, seems they are voiding re 'mistake', 'misrepresentation', or..? uncleb makes some fair points, partic re security

Edited January 17, 2013 by Ford

[honeybee13]

Hello again davekat.

 

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but have you said when the policy started please?

 

HB

[davekat]

started on 16th nov 2012

[unclebulgaria67]

You need to check the buying process that was followed online and the documents sent to you. Was it made clear to you to check the sum insured and policy limits to make sure the policy was suitable ? I would think that it was, but you should investigate with a microscope.

 

Unfortunately this is yet another example where someone has had a problem in arranging Insurance online. Unless you really know what you are doing, it is advisable not to use the internet and instead phone companies or use a local brokers.

[peter fenton]

I have had a similar problem with Sheila's Wheels, Esure and Cunnigham Lindsey, the loss adjuster. We had £20,000 worth of jewelry stolen by our mentally ill son, we were told by the insurer/loss adjuster that we would have to prosecute for the claim to go ahead. Our son was arrested and is about to be saddled with a criminal record. Our contents cover is for £60,000 plus, so we assumed that my wife would at least get her jewelry replaced. However, esure informed us that we were under insured by 50%. It seems that the content insurance of £60,000 is split into three parts: household, high risk and named. We were sent a cheque for £10,000. It looks like we have been robbed twice.

 

Peter Fenton

[unclebulgaria67]

I have had a similar problem with Sheila's Wheels, Esure and Cunnigham Lindsey, the loss adjuster. We had £20,000 worth of jewelry stolen by our mentally ill son, we were told by the insurer/loss adjuster that we would have to prosecute for the claim to go ahead. Our son was arrested and is about to be saddled with a criminal record. Our contents cover is for £60,000 plus, so we assumed that my wife would at least get her jewelry replaced. However, esure informed us that we were under insured by 50%. It seems that the content insurance of £60,000 is split into three parts: household, high risk and named. We were sent a cheque for £10,000. It looks like we have been robbed twice.

 

Peter Fenton

 

If you did not speak to someone at the Insurers when buying the policy to explain your requirements, I am not exactly sure why the Insurers would be responsible, if the policy coverage was not found to be adequate. As we all know jewellery values have massively increased in the last few years, due to gold prices, so many people will be under-insured.

 

I repeat the advice I gave previously. If you have more than a few thousand pounds worth of jewellery or of valuables, you are taking a risk arranging cover online. Better to speak to Insurers or use a broker and to disclose fully what your requirements are. The policy can then be tailored to suit your requirements. If you arrange cover online, you will have a standard policy, with standard limitations in cover, as set out in the policy wording.

 

If there are any issues about the buying process you are unhappy about, then make a complaint to the Insurers and do follow up with the FOS if necessary.