Get the lowdown on those vital insurance policies
INSURANCE is big business. Of around 27 million households in the UK in 2014, 20.4 million had contents insurance, 20.1 million had motor insurance and 3.2 million had mortgage protection.
Those are huge numbers, but it’s likely that many, many more policies are out there – in fact you may have some that you’ve forgotten about.
Insurance contracts come in many shapes and sizes, but the main principle behind the policies is to cover you for those unexpected events in life that catch you by surprise and cost you money.
The vast majority of insurance claims go without a hitch, but there’s still a huge number that are rejected or aren’t paid in full every year, which means there are lots of people unhappy with a claim.
Here’s an overview of what to watch out for.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
INSURANCE documents are a nightmare to read. For a start, they’re often in tiny font and use legalistic language that’s hard to understand.
It’s standard for a company to say you are obliged to read the terms and conditions and, if you don’t, you could find your claim turned down.
Very few people read terms and conditions in full – that’s why insurers are obliged to give you a ‘key facts’ document that summarises in simple terms what the most important bits of the contract are.
We’d recommend skimming the documents looking for a few key things:
Excess fees: This is the amount of money knocked off your payment when you make a claim. As a rule, the higher the excess, the lower the price of the policy. But it can be more cost-effective to get a more expensive policy as excess fees
sometimes make claims not worthwhile. Payment limits: This is the maximum the firm will pay out. You usually get higher limits on more expensive policies. Reporting requirements: Important this one. If you’re making a claim for theft or criminal damage you’ll need a police report as proof – and medical proof for an accident or treatment. And you’ll need to let the insurance company know within a set timeframe.
So always put insurer’s claims number into your phone, just in case you need to make a claim quickly.
Changing circumstances: If you move, have a medical issue or something happens that could affect the value of a claim, you generally need to notify the insurance company as the change could affect premiums.
For example, if you move to a slightly more ‘edgy’ area, you will probably have to pay more for car insurance. Failure to disclose a significant issue may result in a claim being rejected. Which leads us to…
Disclosure: This is a big part of many insurance contracts – and the source of many complaints. It most often applies to things such as health conditions, but can also involve any significant change of circumstances or modifications to your car.
You must tell the insurer about anything that might affect the premium. So if you want to go on holiday but have a serious illness, you’re a higher risk so they’ll charge more. If you neglect to mention it, you’re ‘misrepresenting’ the situation and the insurer can ‘void’ your contract – cancelling it without payment.
Resolver can help you sort out complaints about pretty much anything. Check out resolver.co.uk and share your experiences at yourstories@ resolvergroup.com