Home Insurance Not Paying Out Due To Wii Remote Not Been Tight Enough!ANGRYFACE!

karlp

:mad:
Hi there,
I've also encountered the same problem, with my 5 year old grandson smashing our 32" LCD TV with the wii remote whilst on bowling. I called our home insurance company yesterday they said they would send someone to check the TV in the next 48 hours to see if it was beyond economical repair which I guess with half the screen cracked it is, I recieved a call from our insurers today asking what make, model the TV was when it was purchased etc she then said they wouldnt be paying out due to my grandson not having the wrist strap on tight enough! When I originally called I did tell the truth and explained the TV was smashed by ny nephew with the wii remote and he did have the strap around his wrist, I could of called and said I knocked the TV accidently off while changing a light bulb or something but no I decided to tell the truth, I did explain to the lady on the phone I would be taking this further but she said they will be sending a letter stating they're would be not paying. I would really appreciate if anyone else has had this happend to them and any advice I can take with my home insurance company and is there anything I can do or anyone I can contact. PS I also have accidental damage cover to electronics with a excess of £50 and I have never claimed also. Thanks in advance

dacouch

Which Insurer is it?

I very much doubt they have a specific exclusion regarding Wii remotes and in the absence of one and the fact your 5 year old grandson was playing the Wii I would be surprised if they can avoid paying out.

stevemarsh1976

dacouch wrote: »

Which Insurer is it?

I very much doubt they have a specific exclusion regarding Wii remotes and in the absence of one and the fact your 5 year old grandson was playing the Wii I would be surprised if they can avoid paying out.

This was my first reaction as well to be honest. Ask them where in the policy terms it states this. AD to electronic equipment definately covers your TV.

Your next point of call is to ask for there claims proceedures which you will need to follow and if you get no joy down that route but only once you have followed that route then contact the insurance ombudsman. By all means tell your insurers you will go down this route if necessary

karlp

Thanks for your help, I'll await the letter and call them again, I'll post a reply as soon as I call them, thanks again everyone.

iamana1ias

karlp wrote: »

:mad:
Hi there,
I've also encountered the same problem, with my 5 year old grandson smashing our 32" LCD TV with the wii remote whilst on bowling. I called our home insurance company yesterday they said they would send someone to check the TV in the next 48 hours to see if it was beyond economical repair which I guess with half the screen cracked it is, I recieved a call from our insurers today asking what make, model the TV was when it was purchased etc she then said they wouldnt be paying out due to my grandson not having the wrist strap on tight enough! When I originally called I did tell the truth and explained the TV was smashed by ny nephew with the wii remote and he did have the strap around his wrist, I could of called and said I knocked the TV accidently off while changing a light bulb or something but no I decided to tell the truth, I did explain to the lady on the phone I would be taking this further but she said they will be sending a letter stating they're would be not paying. I would really appreciate if anyone else has had this happend to them and any advice I can take with my home insurance company and is there anything I can do or anyone I can contact. PS I also have accidental damage cover to electronics with a excess of £50 and I have never claimed also. Thanks in advance

So the child is your grandchild and your nephew? There's something not quite right about that! :think:

karlp

Sorry I'm writing this on behalf of my parents, he is my nephew, their grandson.
Apologies

Wutang_2

iamana1ias wrote: »

So the child is your grandchild and your nephew? There's something not quite right about that! :think:

Perfectly acceptable in the Forest of Dean...

karlp

Hi, forgot to mention insurance is with Aviva, I'm quite suprised myself that they would take this route for such a big company.

iamana1ias

karlp wrote: »

Hi, forgot to mention insurance is with Aviva, I'm quite suprised myself that they would take this route for such a big company.

Not sure why. The wii gives very clear instructions that the wrist strap needs to be tight. Someone should have checked it.

Annisele

iamana1ias wrote: »

Not sure why. The wii gives very clear instructions that the wrist strap needs to be tight. Someone should have checked it.

I'm not convinced by that - the root cause of many accidents is that someone somewhere did something stupid; it doesn't always mean that the insurance company won't pay out for accidental damage. An accidental damage policy that wouldn't pay out if the damage was caused by carelessness would be a bit useless!

(I'm not suggesting that the OP was stupid to let the grandson/nephew/small relative play with a Wii, just that even if he had been stupid it doesn't necessarily mean that the insurer gets to avoid paying).

TighterThanTwoCoatsOfPain

I had an insurance claim on the council refused by their insurers when they smashed my car window with a stone that flicked up from a strimmer..

Their reasoning being that all reasonable precautions had been taken and that the council chap hadnt been neligent in his use of the equipment and therefore the public liability insurance wouldnt pay out (or that jist - it was years ago!)

Perhaps they believe you were negligent in not checking the strap was done up correctly on a 5yo throwing it towards the TV? (if done up correctly it wont come off)

Just an idea?