Direct Line tell me my contents insurance was never valid

pedro123456

Thank you dacouch, how about we stop posting on monkeys thread discussing if brokers are value on not and wish him/her good luck

Maybe a separate thread would be best, we could perhaps debate hourly rates Percentages etc how Money Saving Expert clients can save money or not pro’s & con’s etc, etc, etc

Z

dunstonh

I just checked Direct Line's online quote service and it doesnt ask the question whether its is furnished or not when getting a quote and there is no indication it wont. However, it does say in the FAQ: (copied and pasted)

Can you insure contents in a fully furnished rented accomodation?

We are unable to insure the contents of a fully-furnished rented accommodation, as this should normally be the landlord or managing agent's responsibility.

There is nothing to suggest an exclusion in the policy summary or policy documents. I think direct line are on thin ground on this one. Whilst they list it in their FAQs, it is not listed where it matters and there are no warnings to suggest anything even close to it being rejected.

dacouch

Well spotted Dunstonh.

Like you said this would have left DL on thin ice if there was a claim and the Ombudsman would have almost certainly ruled in the OPs favour (Made DL pay out).

Normally these types of cases come to light when there is a claim and the policyholder quite rightly expects the Insurer to pay out.

It sounds the OP has grounds for a complaint, I doubt DL will refund the entire premium but there is a good chance they will make an exgratia for the stress caused

10past6

dacouch wrote: »

As you know Pedro I am a broker so I'm biased.

A lot of the time a broker will be more expensive as at the moment the direct insurers are buying new customers in at a loss.

A broker is typically earns just under 10% of the premium in commission (The Insurer pay this) and may make extra from selling legal cover and a policy fee (Probably gross an extra £20).

With a broker they can guide you which companies are actually any good and which are not. They can find a policy that suits your needs eg if you travel abroad a lot probably NU would be better. If you have a claim you have the broker sorting it out for you and if the Insurer tells you something incorrect about your claim the broker should know this is incorrect and get it sorted. If you were dealing direct with the Insurer the chances are you would just accept their decision.

Brokers tend to weed out the rubbish Insurers and not use them as they create more work for them when there is a claim and they tend to mean you lose your customer at renewal as they would blame the broker. As with any business a broker wants to build a long term relationship with the client.

The other difference is the policies an Insurer offers direct normally offer lower levels of cover than the policies through a broker. The reason for this is simple, when a broker is quoting they evaluate the premium and cover so they tend to offer better cover through brokers to gain the business.

Like I said before you will often get a cheaper price by going direct but as you well know Pedro getting a cheap price is not a real saving if the Insurer does not pay out or you get a reduced amount. For unusual risks then a broker is normally cheaper than going direct.

The other issue is a broker is normally far more knowledgable and has more experience than the call centre staff at a direct insurer.

I worked for a year at a direct company and the the call centre staff where monitored on how long the length of their average call is and how many calls they answer a day. The reason for this is the quicker the calls the less staff they need. So rather than take they have to rush you to get you off the phone

Fantastic post :T this post has convinced me to go out and use a broker, however, where can I find a "decent" IFA? other than Yellow Pages / Web?

dacouch

Dunstonh will be able to point you to a website that will locate a decent local ifa

dunstonh

dacouch wrote: »

Dunstonh will be able to point you to a website that will locate a decent local ifa

I can point to the website that lists over 90% of IFAs. Cant tell if they are all decent though. However, with complaints against IFAs at only 4% at the FOS (and trending towards 2% in last 6 months) despite IFAs being the largest distribution channel, statistically, its unlikely you will find a bad one.

The biggest differences with IFAs is not so much quality of advice but charges or commission taken. Although for home insurance that isnt really an issue.

https://www.unbiased.co.uk is the database. Make sure you unselect the option that defaults to only show paying IFAs (i.e. pay that site to get a bigger profile entry). Most dont. Especially those that dont need to advertise. So, not showing them will cut your numbers down.

thriftymonkey

lisyloo wrote: »

If you are certain it's not on their website then yes you have options.
But first check any related links.
Sometime you get a check box that says "I agree to the terms and conditions" and it has a link to another page.
Check it out and if you are sure I suggest you print out the pages ASAP (in case the website changes).

Your best option before court would be to make a formal complaint.
Check their procedure on the website and follow it.
It's important to follow it rather than just send a letter to a random address so be sure it gets to the correct department.
I would send your letter by recorded delivery (70p or 75p) or send email with both read and delivery receipts switched on. (keep any receipts).
I don't think Direct Line are a bad organisation but some organisations will "lose" your correspondance on purpose. This way you can prove it was delivered. Keep a record of names, dates and times if you speak to anyone on the phone.
Their procedure will take some weeks possibly months and you will go through 3 or 4 levels of employees.
This is to keep their costs down but also to try to wear you down.
If they don't agree then you can take them to the ombudsman which is slow but FREE and no risk to you (apart from time, paper and stamps).
It will cost Direct Line about £350 if you do this, so they might settle before this especially if your case is good.
You cannot go to the ombudsman before you have exhausted the complaints procedure with Direct Line. If DL don't agree you will get a deadlock letter.
You then submit your claim to the Ombudsman and if you are right, you have a very good change of winning in my view, but do expect it to take months.

Your other alternative is to go to court.
This may cost you some money and there is a chance of losing.
If you do this instantly, the judge might think you haven't given Direct Line a sporting chance of replying, so I think you need to do that first.
You also face the risk of Direct Line, moving the case to their location (I think the defendant can move it to their locality).
You might want to check this out in case their Head office or customer services is at the other end of the coutry to you.
Also consider time off work for going to court.

For the reasons above I suggest using the complaints and ombudsman process rather than court.
It will be slow (guess what they are inundated) but it will only cost you stamps and you won't have to take time off work or travel to somewhere far away to attend court.

If your complaint is valid you will almost certainly win, but make sure you check out all those links on the website first and do the PRINOUTS for proof.
There is a possibility they could change their website either conincidentally or explciity because of your case.

Thank-you for this informative post! I'll ring DL and see what they say, and then consider referring it to the Ombudsman. Thank you very much

thriftymonkey

dunstonh wrote: »

I just checked Direct Line's online quote service and it doesnt ask the question whether its is furnished or not when getting a quote and there is no indication it wont. However, it does say in the FAQ: (copied and pasted)

Can you insure contents in a fully furnished rented accomodation?

We are unable to insure the contents of a fully-furnished rented accommodation, as this should normally be the landlord or managing agent's responsibility.

There is nothing to suggest an exclusion in the policy summary or policy documents. I think direct line are on thin ground on this one. Whilst they list it in their FAQs, it is not listed where it matters and there are no warnings to suggest anything even close to it being rejected.

Thanks very much for pointing this out. I'll print a copy of this FAQ page, just in case I need it. Many thanks!

thriftymonkey

Little update on this. Sent my complaint to Direct Line and still waiting for a response other than their standard acknowledgment. It's been ages already, so I suspect I'll be referring to the ombudsman. At least that'll cost them some money!