How to win home insurance claims
FORGETTING to prune trees or get the boiler serviced are just two things that might land you in hot water over home insurance.
The number of homeowners whose claims are rejected for reasons such as these is not going down, judging from the many emails and letters I’ve received over the years.
So here is my list of the main excuses that insurers use as a justification to refuse to pay out. WEAR AND TEAR ON A HOME Nearly all home i nsurance policies say that a property must be kept in “good condition” and “well maintained”.
Francessca from Liverpool wrote to me about her claim that was refused because of the fact that she had failed to replace several slipped tiles on her roof.
Other similar rejections I’ve heard include:
The boiler wasn’t regularly maintained so wasn’t covered.
The home owner failed to cut back t rees so damage to foundations was not covered.
Water damage in a bathroom, caused by bathroom tiling in a bad state was not covered.
Burst water pipe was not covered because the home owner had failed to lag the pipes. INCORRECT LEVELS OF COVER This is a common problem. If you take out the incorrect level of cover, for example you insure the contents of your home for a figure that is too low, you will always lose out as you get no sympathy from the insurance provider in these circumstances.
Jean from Hartlepool wrote to me about her claim following her house being burgled. The thieves cleared the whole house while she was on holiday.
She put in a claim for £100,000 only to be told there was a cap of £65,000. HIGH VALUE ITEMS Often insurance companies say that you must inform them of items that have a high value, such as expensive jewellery. Failure to do this will hand your insurance provider a trump card when it comes to rejecting your claim. NON-DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL FACTS The more you tell your insurance provider about your home, who lives in it and what you do there, the more protection you will have. I’ve heard stories of claims being rejected due to:
Failure to disclose that the homeowner works or runs a business from home.
Failure to disclose that young children live in the house.
Failure to disclose that there is a tenant.
Failure to disclose that the house is rented.