paying two building insurance policies

[francie.m]

I have just realised that I have been paying two building insurance policies for 12 years.Can I get a refund and if so how much am I entitled to?

[dx100uk]

the full lot

 

so yo alreay had BI

 

and your mortgage co. put it on again?

 

mortgage limitation is 12yrs under the limitations act

 

dx

[francie.m]

I have just received a letter from Lloyds bank today stating" that in cases of dual insurance,it's usual for each insurer to provide 50% refund of the premiums you have paid to them during any period of dual insurance,up to a maximum of three years".Are they right in saying it is three years ?

[dx100uk]

no!!

 

dx

[Ethel Street]

the full lot

 

so yo alreay had BI

 

and your mortgage co. put it on again?

 

mortgage limitation is 12yrs under the limitations act

 

dx

 

Can you give more information dx100uk for why if you've bought 2 building insurance policies

you can get all the premiums repaid for last 12 years?

 

I'm not saying you are definitely wrong

but I've worked in insurance industry for over 25 years

and I've never heard of any such right.

 

I'd say that Lloyds offer is an ex-gratia offer to preserve customer goodwill, they don't have to offer anything.

 

If either policy had been missold in some way, if francie had been misled by one of the insurers or the mortgage company,

that would be different, but there's nothing in the OP to indicate that's happened.

[ericsbrother]

If the insurance was compulsorily added to the mortgage agreement then that has been unlawful for about 20 years and any mortgage related matters have a limitation of 12 years rather than 6

[Ethel Street]

I have just realised that I have been paying two building insurance policies for 12 years.Can I get a refund and if so how much am I entitled to?

 

so yo alreay had BI

 

and your mortgage co. put it on again?

If the insurance was compulsorily added to the mortgage agreement then that has been unlawful for about 20 years and any mortgage related matters have a limitation of 12 years rather than 6

 

I think rather a lot of assumptions have been made in the advice given to francie

 

To be clear, there is no general law that says if you've have bought two insurance policies

in error for your house you are entitled to a refund.

 

If you were missold that might be different, but that's not suggested by francie.

 

Because francie's question involves a policy arranged through the mortgage company

there's some competition law that requires the mortgage lender to allow you a choice of building insurers,

to choose your own building insurer and not use the lenders scheme.

 

However the assumption that the mortgage lender arranged the policy without without francie's consent,

that it was was compulsorily added to the mortgage,

isn't justified by the information francie has given.

 

Maybe francie accepted the lender's offer of buildings insurance 12 years ago

without realising this duplicated cover?

 

I don't know, and unless francie comes back to the thread to comment neither does anyone else.

 

Unless francie can show that the mortgage lender acted improperly in adding buildings insurance

without consent francie has no right to recover any premiums.

 

It's also not clear whether Lloyds Bank is the insurer for the policy arranged by the mortgage lender

or the insurer francie went to direct.

 

If the latter I don't believe they have any obligation to return any premiums

and are just making a commercial goodwill gesture.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Ethel Street

[dx100uk]

whomever sold them the duplicate insurance should have carried out even basic checks

to ascertain none were already in-place

 

that's part of the even the most basic guidelines they should have been operating under.

 

dx

[Ethel Street]

whomever sold them the duplicate insurance should have carried out even basic checks

to ascertain none were already in-place

 

that's part of the even the most basic guidelines they should have been operating under.

 

dx

 

What law was in force 12 years ago requiring any such checks? None. No requiremnt now for that matter, Demands and Needs Statments don't require this to be asked any more than my bookshop is required to ask me if I already have a copy of the book I'm buying (and anyway household buildings insurance through a bank or mortgage lender are normally non-advised sales).

[dx100uk]

who said anything about laws?

 

the fos site quite clearly defines things

[Ethel Street]

the fos site quite clearly defines things

 

Where does it say that a household building insurer must ask whether there's another policy in force? Nowhere that I can find. Please provide link to support your assertion.

[dx100uk]

hi ES

 

I have not said anywhere the buildings insurer must ask such.

 

however, under MCOBS, the preceding CMI Code of conduct. THe FSA & THe FOS

 

it reasonable to assume that whomever is selling the mortgage

be that the company direct or a broker..

 

or lets be more specific/truthful here..., 'the person', whomever they are, that is going to make a healthy commission

out of the person taking the mortgage .. should 'take all reasonable steps'

to ensure they are not duplicating any insurance products on their commission based sales.

 

indeed, http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/policy/issues/111

which was in force at the time the OP here took out their mortgage says:

 

will clearly, when providing information state..

 

'whether it is a condition of the mortgage that such insurances must be taken out

and

whose responsibility it is to ensure that it is taken out'.

 

i read that sentence to logically mean:

 

to out line whose responsibility it is to ensure an insurance policy

that is required for the mortgage is in place

 

so thus 'to ensure it is taken out'

means..

that the 'person' selling the mortgage/insurance

must express to 'who is responsible' for it being there

to check the required insurance IS in-place

or IS taken out ...

 

there are numerous threads here on CAG and elsewhere that refer to dual insurance issues

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?380854-Dual-House-Insurance-question

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?4263

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?297090-Help-with-claim-for-dual-buildings-and-contents-insurance-Kensington-Mortgages-and-Barclays

 

dx

[Ethel Street]

francie was given explicit and unqualified advice that she/he had a right to recover "the full lot back" but no-one can produce any such basis in law or regulatory codes of conduct for any such assertion. I stand by my original comment that insurers are not obliged to return any premium but when they do so it's 'commercial goodwill' (unless there is actual evidence of mis-selling - which there isn't in this case). Nor are sellers obliged to specifically ask whether there is another policy in force and the phrase 'whether it is a condition of the mortgage that such insurances must be taken out and whose responsibility it is to ensure that it is taken out' cannot reasonably be taken to mean that. The links given to previous threads support this. No-one in any thread identified any law or regulatory requirement about refunding premiums for dual insurance. All the posters were advised to ask for their premiums back but none reported actually getting them back except in one case where the circumstances were completely different (the person had expressly instructed mortgage company he didn't want their insurance and sent them a copy of his alternative insurance but mortgage co added it anyway in breach of instructions). All in all francie has been wrongly advised.

[dx100uk]

not worth answering...too indoctrinated and brain washed by the industry..

 

in otherwords you condone brokers or whomever that make £1000's in commission by mis-selling stuff

 

and get away with it on a daily basis.

 

no wonder these people make millions.

 

dx

[Ethel Street]

not worth answering...too indoctrinated and brain washed by the industry..

 

in otherwords you condone brokers or whomever that make £1000's in commission by mis-selling stuff

 

and get away with it on a daily basis.

 

no wonder these people make millions.

 

dx

 

What a bizarre response dx100uk, are you all right? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with my comments. How you deduce I'm condoning mis-selling when there isn't any mis-selling involved (none that francie has indicated anyway) I cannot imagine, especially as I've said in nearly every post I've made 'assuming there's been no mis-selling'

Edited February 27, 2014 by Ethel Street