Contents Insurance for Bankrupt & Convictions

Rainbow_Butterfly

My house contents insurance is up for renewel on the 15th Jan, and I have noticed that it says on the paperwork that we have to tell them if anyone in the house is bankrupt or has any convictions, both of these are sadly true in our case now. In the last year I have gone bankrupt and hubby has been done for assault.

More than, our current insurers are saying now that they wont cover us, and after playing about with the comparison websites (and admitting on them about the above) most of the results are coming back unable to quote. The ones that are coming back are massive, like £800 for contents for a 2bed semi.

Anyone know of any insurers that would take us and give us an ok price?
Policy could be in either of our names, whichever would get the best quote.

Really down about all of this, didnt realise being BR would cause such hassle with insurance.

Anyone know if I should also let my car insurance people know? (and if it will have the same effect?)

xx

ps. Also posted on the bankruptcy board in case they have any ideas.

FlameCloud

The internet sites are for standard risks, which you no longer are, which is why they wont cover you, or offer a ridiculous premium to make you go away.

Bankruptcy is an issue as it is a key indicator in fraud investigations (note that I am NOT saying you will commit fraud, only that an insurer will think you more likely to). The conviction for assualt is also another problem- as you pose a higher risk, maybe from reprisal attacks etc and it may also say something about the company you keep- again not saying you particularly but it will be a general feeling amongnst underwriters.

You will need to let them know- it will be a condition in your contract. If they choose to void the policy then that is unfortunate, however it will be better to have it happen now rather then they find out in the middle of a claim and you could potentially face a bill for millions in costs.

There are specialists in this area- my recomendation would be to approach a broker as none of the standard insurers will touch you via the normal routes.

FlameCloud

Rainbow_Butterfly wrote: »

Anyone know of any insurers that would take us and give us an ok price?
Policy could be in either of our names, whichever would get the best quote.

On this point specifically, it wouldnt work unfortunatly. The question is invariably have you ever had a criminal conviction/been declared bankrupt. The YOU is important as it will defined within the policy (a contract) that will normally say something like you meaning- yourself, people that live with you etc.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

I agree with Flame; you are not going to get any realistic assistance from the price comparison sites. The sites sell themselves based on speed and price, which means that if you have anything non-standard (regardless of whether it is the construction of the home, the type of car or even your occupation), the system cannot cope.

The Chartered Insurance Institute recently released an article on insurance for ex offenders. In the article, they talk about the work of a charity called UNLOCK.

Here are two links:

This is to the CII article:
http://www.cii.co.uk/downloaddata/TP8BathOffenders&Insurance.pdf

This is to the UNLOCK website:
http://unlock.org.uk/main.aspx

There is a big banner on the UNLOCK website titled "Insurance". If you click there then there is a further link to a guide that may help you as well as a list of insurance brokers that specialise in ex-offender insurance. It will take you some time, but I strongly recommend you approach at least 2 of the brokers to get the best deal for you.

Make sure you are as honest as possible with the broker - tell them everything and make sure you put it all in writing too. Check any proposal form or statement of fact that they send you and don't be afraid to ask questions!! The broker is there to help you, so use their services.

All the best and please post back to let us know how you get on.