Claiming for contents of freezer and fridge?

Shaanbles

We had a power surge sometime friday morning and had to reset the consumer box; the 'high temperature' light came on the fridge/freezer which is quite common when you leave the door open too long - I assumed this was because of the lack of power and it would go off once the temperature was cold enough.

Unfortunately it has stopped cooling and now the temperature in the fridge is as warm as outside; however I didn't realise this until it was too late which means the contents of the fridge and freezer have had to be thrown away.

Question 1: Will the insurance company pay for the contents because it has stopped working? I have cover for freezer contents and accidental damage, but does his classify?

Question 2: It stopped working after the power surge; can I claim for the actual fridge/freezer itself?

Many thanks in advance

Shaanbles

dacouch

The vast majority of home policies automatically include cover for freezer contents so would cover this, most also include cover for electrical items damaged by power surges.

The Insurers will normally conform there was a power spike with the energy provider.

When you contact them for the claim they will want a list of all of the items in the freezer and their apporximate price eg 1kg Frozen Peas 99p 2 x Sirloin Steaks £6 etc etc.

Please be carefull not to exaggerate your claim as where they suspect this they have been known to check the cubic capacity of the freezer and then check whether the food would actually fit in the freezer. On the customers they have caught doing this they decline to pay the entire claim and normally cancel the Insurance which would make it very difficult to get any type of insurance (Including car) every again. Sorry if I'm preaching on this but it is very common for people to do this on freezer claims and I would hate for you to get caught out.

With regard to the freezer, the Insurer will normally have a national supplier who they will appoint to arrange a replacement freezer, often they deliver it to your home or give you vouchers to go into a designated store.

As you have been caught out by a power surge you might want to buy a surge protection plug. I bought a few of these recently from tescos and they were about £8 for four way surge protector plugs. They are especially good for sensitive items like computers and televisions.

Are any of your other electrical items damaged?

Shaanbles

Thank you for your advice - it's very useful.

No thankfully nothing else was damaged; which suggests perhaps it wasn't a power surge - but something tripped the fuse on the consumer box.

About to call the insurance company now!

dacouch

If there was no power surge eg the fuse tripped due to a mechanical problem with the freezer then the Insurers will not normally replace the freezer but they will normally still pay for the food.

If your just putting a claim in for the food it is not always worth claiming for once you take into account the excess and any future increases in your premium

Shaanbles

dacouch wrote: »

If there was no power surge eg the fuse tripped due to a mechanical problem with the freezer then the Insurers will not normally replace the freezer but they will normally still pay for the food.

If your just putting a claim in for the food it is not always worth claiming for once you take into account the excess and any future increases in your premium

I'll explain the situation to them and see what they say with regards to excess and payout and then decide whether to pursue it - that's if they ever answer; been on hold for 25 mins now!

dacouch

Its worth trying to claim for the freezer as they will often pay out on them, just explain it as some sort of power surge which is what it does sound like

geri1965_2

You could ring the local electricity supplier and ask them if there was a surge - I deal with claims for one of them and they usually arrange a leaflet drop to the area to explain what's happened, and they will usually settle any claims themselves as well.

I don't know if they all do this however - what area are you in?

Shaanbles

geri1965 wrote: »

You could ring the local electricity supplier and ask them if there was a surge - I deal with claims for one of them and they usually arrange a leaflet drop to the area to explain what's happened, and they will usually settle any claims themselves as well.

I don't know if they all do this however - what area are you in?

I'm in Wokingham, Berkshire

geri1965_2

That's not my area, unfortunately - worth giving them a ring though, to see if the fault was at their end.