Holiday insurance wouldn’t pay out

Last year I took out travel insurance for my wife and me to last 12 months.

I had several conditions to declare for myself, including a heart bypass six years ago.

The cost of the insurance with AllClear was £1,173.

Unfortunately, after much fighting to save my right leg, I decided to have it amputated below the knee. I am at last free of pain and looking forward to receiving my first prosthetic leg.

Meanwhile, a holiday that had been booked had to be cancelled. I submitted a claim of around £2,800. PETER ROSWELL, DEVON

One of the toes on the leg that was later amputated below the knee had been partly amputated a month before you took out the travel insurance.

You had not mentioned this specifically during the insurance medical screening process, perceiving it to be linked to the issues that you had declared. You admit that this was wrong.

As a result of this omission, the claim was turned down.

When all this was reviewed following my inquiry, it transpired from your supporting evidence that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which you had been diagnosed with in February 2015 and for which you had been prescribed medication, had not been disclosed either.

Further to my involvement, Mapfre Assistance, the underwriter of the policy, wrote to you confirming that the claim had been declined correctly. You readily admit that you are indeed at fault.

However, in what we both agree is a fair and reasonable resolution, the policy has now been taken back to how it would have been underwritten at the point of sale had the toe amputation and pulmonary disease been noted.

Re-assessing the policy in this way shows that the cover would have been provided but at a higher premium of £1,504.

As it would have accepted the risk presented in this way, AllClear has calculated that you had paid 78pc of the premium that was needed to cover your medical conditions correctly. It has therefore paid £2,035 after deducting excesses.

You are delighted with this outcome and grateful to all concerned. has caused us considerable anxiety and emotional distress. DL, MERSEYSIDE

The lounge of your detached house was significantly damaged, mostly by smoke.

The investigation Tesco undertook, which was carried out by staff in Poland and based on photographs, indicated that the fire was caused by a short circuit on the power cable attached to a four-way socket.

The television had been on standby. The Tesco report found that the evidence indicated that the stand burnt first. The fire or heat came up from outside and on the right side of the bottom audiovisual sockets. The inside of the stand had not melted, only the back.

The independent report you had commissioned was less detailed and said the most likely cause of the fire was an electrical fault on the TV.

You were not insured. The claim you made to Tesco was for £1,613. This included the £148 charge for your own report.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We take product safety extremely seriously and will always investigate issues that customers bring to our attention. An internal investigation indicated that the source of the fire was external to the television, which was designed according to European safety standards.

“We have explained the results to [ your reader’s] representative and are unfortunately unable to assist with this matter further.”

You still haven’t taken out any house insurance. I have urged you strongly to do so. Things could have been so much worse.