Beware Tesco Contents Insurance

nhoJ_3

My Mum and Dad (In their eighties) got burgled, only jewlery stolen, very old stuff that belonged to their parents and bits from when they were young, genuine claim put in for £1500.

They have not made any claims for at least the last 20 years and only swapped over to Tesco about 4 months ago.

Tesco wont pay out because they did not have original receipts or photo's of the items.

Does anybody have any advice, they are feeling very let down?

If there is no way forward i suggest everyone reads the small print in detail, especially Tesco's.

Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

Ask for their complaints procedure.
Are there no photos of your parents wearing some of the jewellery?

nhoJ_3

Thanks for the replies

I dont think so, the items were keepsakes from my grandparents, not often worn, if at all.

I think the headless monster that is Tescos have one this one.

silvercar

Follow tesco complaints procedure. If that faisl you reach a deadlock situation and can then take the case to the ombudsman. Doesn't cost your parents anything to do this.

missile

Is this a condition in Tesco policy?

dacouch

Were the items mentioned in a will by any chance

nhoJ_3

Thankyou all for your replies. i have today looked through the policy and spoken to various People at Tescos.
Can find no mention of the fact you have to have proof of value/existance except for items detailed in the schedule.
New Policies say that you only have to prove the value/existence of items over £2000 that are listed in your schedule, general jewlery you do not have to.
Claims Department say they still have to have evidence of items existance. To me this means presumably they do not payout on the majority of cases.

Next Step, complaints procedure.

dacouch

Insurers are entitled to request proof of ownership (This can be many forms not just a receipt) although they do not always insist on seeing this as it often depends on the value of the items.

Here is a case history from the ombudsman which may help you as it suggests somes other proof of ownerships that are acceptable

75/08
insurer refuses claim for a lost designer watch because policyholder cannot provide any proof of ownership
Mr B made a claim under his contents policy for the cost of replacing his designer watch. He said he lost the watch while on a mountain-walking trip one weekend. As soon as he got home he reported the loss to the police and obtained a crime reference number.
His policy covered personal belongings in and away from his home. He told the insurer that the watch had been worth over £1,800. However, he was aware that his policy had a limit of £1,500 for single items. He had therefore managed to find and buy a replacement that was similar in style to the watch he had lost, but that only cost £1,450.
The insurer said it needed to establish his ownership of the lost watch before it could consider the claim. It asked to see the original receipt. Mr B said he did not have a receipt because the watch had been a gift. He thought it highly unlikely that the friend who gave him the watch would still have the receipt. In any event, he did not feel he could ask her about it.
When the insurer said it was unable to take matters further without the receipt, Mr B complained to us.
We looked in detail at the contents policy. Like many such policies, it included a section about the need for policyholders to provide proof of ownership when making a claim.
We reminded the insurer that possession of a receipt was not the only means of establishing ownership. If Mr B was unable to ask his friend for the receipt – or for a copy of her credit card statement showing the purchase of the watch – he might be able to produce the guarantee or the box the watch had come in. Or he might have a photograph that clearly showed him wearing the watch.
We contacted Mr B and asked if he could provide any such evidence. A few days later he wrote to tell us he was withdrawing his complaint and no longer wished to pursue the matter.