Insurance query advice needed please

poet123

This is a follow up post to one I made re insurance claim made by us for a theft from a hire car in Barcelona. My claim is being processed through our home ins policy (and will be paid in full according to telephone conversations with our insurer )but my son claimed on his travel insurance.

His claim amounted to around £850 for laptop,ipod,watch and a small amount of designer clothing. He has received a cheque this morning for .....£93:mad: and a letter saying that because the items were not locked in a safe,or hotel room they were not covered due to a clause in the policy. Not once during numerous calls or the 5 week wait,or the collation of receipts etc, did anyone intimate to my son that this clause existed:mad:

I need advice as to whether it is worth going to the Insurance Ombudsman on the grounds that under the circumstances that clause is an unfair term or condition.

The circumstances were that we had driven from France to Spain and had all our luggage in the car(securely locked in the boot)as we were en route to the airport. We could not have been expected to make the journey in one go without leaving the car,the car was left for 1 hour on a main street. Nor is it reasonable to expect us to take all the bags from the car and transport them around Barcelona. We have police evidence to back up the claim.

So does anyone have any advice as to whether it is worth contacting the Ombudsman.

TIA

DocProc

I'd like to be able to check out and read the Policy Clauses.

Which insurance company was your son's Travel Insurance Policy with?

Who sold your son the Policy?

Was the rest of your family covered on it or just your son?

What opportunity did he/(you?) get to read the policy clauses before purchasing the policy?

Same questions really:

Out of interest, why didn't he join with you and claim on your home insurance policy?
Why didn't you claim on the Travel Insurance policy? It's a one-off and by claiming on your Home Insurance, surely you are potentially spoiling your ability to gain a no-claims bonus on it in the future?

poet123

Eldest son has just returned from Uni and was too old to be covered on the family annual travel policy and so had a single trip stand alone policy. The losses incurred by the other family members came to the limit of our insured losses for away brom home cover,and so it seemed the best option for him to claim in his own right.

We also had our multi trip policy with the same insurer but a friend advised us to claim on our household insurance as it is new for old cover. So glad we did!! Not claimed on house insurance for ages so will take the hit re no claims if necessary.

The policy was bought over the phone from Direct insurance who are it seems underwritten by AIG. I am not saying the clause isnt in the policy,it clearly is,but that under the circumstances it has been unfairly applied as we had no option but to leave the luggage in the boot en route toan airport after such a long journey.

DocProc

Is this the Policy?

It's a '.PDF' type of file and requires Acrobat Reader to read it.

http://www.direct-travel.co.uk/documents/axa-policy-wording.pdf

poet123

That is the one,the exclusion is there but obviously you dont expect it to happen in broad daylight on a main street,and when all items are out of sight. As I said I am not disputing the clause,just the application.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

poet123 wrote: »

That is the one,the exclusion is there but obviously you dont expect it to happen in broad daylight on a main street,and when all items are out of sight. As I said I am not disputing the clause,just the application.

The clause existed and was employed

Its quite a fair clause, Barcelona and other european cities are full of pick pockets and petty criminals, of course they will target hire cars etc so its fair to exclude items left in cars etc

Even in the UK most policies cover limited items stolen from cars because they are easily stolen

poet123

I understand the reasoning, but if you are driving from another country and are en route to the airport what are you supposed to do? drive non stop and never get out?

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

poet123 wrote: »

I understand the reasoning, but if you are driving from another country and are en route to the airport what are you supposed to do? drive non stop and never get out?

Your meant to either comply with the terms of the policy or pay the increased premium to get a policy which meets your need

Not pay for a cheap policy which doesnt meet your needs then moan when you dont get what would have been included for extra that you didnt want to pay

poet123

Well thank for those kind words. The policy was quite sufficient for our needs for 19 of the 20 days we were away. I bought an extra stand alone policy for my son,as far as I was concerned we were covered for the main problems which could occur. I did not forsee someone taking advantage of the small window of opportunity we afforded them. I did not have a crystal ball,nor could anyone forsee every eventuality and arrange cover for it,exccept perhaps you:rolleyes:

Fortunately we can afford to replace the items lost without receiving the insurance monies.

However, the next time life throws you a curved ball I hope you remember this sympathetic post:rolleyes: and reflect on the fact that we all make decisions without the benefit of hindsight.

geri1965_2

Who in their right mind leaves a laptop and an iPod in a car boot, whether at home or on holiday? When I go on holiday my expensive items stay with me at all times.

poet123

There were 5 of us with lots of valuable stuff between us,we could not possibly carry it around with us,and we were only away from the car for a very short period of time. So if you are on holiday you carry all your valuables to the beach,sightseeing etc.....you must be unique,and a pack horse.