E&L declined claim but policy wording is ambiguous

duffpaddy

8 weeks ago my bike was stolen from the communal cycle store in the basement of my building despite being locked to an immovable bike stand with and expensive D-lock.

E&L has recently written to me and informed my that my insurance claim has been declined because I failed to meet the following security requirement:

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS
Requirements at Your Home
2. If the Bicycle is stored in a communal hallway it must be locked by means of an Approved lock to an immovable object.

The above the security requirement states that I am entitled to store my bike "in a communal hallway". I've looked at the policy wording and whilst they define what a 'Home' is, they do not have a definition of what constitutes a 'communal hallway'. The wording in this part of the policy is therefore ambiguous. Without specific definition of what constitutes a "communal hallway", it is uncertain which commual areas within my building would fall under this definition.

The communal cycle store within my building is adjoined by a communal hallway. As both the cycle store and the hallway are communal areas and they are connected together and are accessed and used in the same manner that all communal areas within the building are, how can the insurance company differeniate between the two?

Could I appeal against their decision to decline my claim on the grounds that they have interpreted some ambiguous policy wording?

Quentin

If your lock was "approved", then you seem to have good grounds to appeal.

duffpaddy

It was a "Gold standard" lock according to the poilcy - the highest rating this insurance company gives for D-locks.

dacouch

E&L would probably have declined the claim if it was stolen from an immovable object in a communal hall anyway. They are a poor excuse for an Insurer with a reputation they deserve.

No doubt they have a requirement that the bike is locked to an immovable object when it is not in a locked building which is likely to influence the Ombudsman to rule in your favour.

Try putting the Insurers name in the title of the thread (You can do it by editing the post). There have been many posts about E&L (None of them good). There was a post a couple of months ago and one of the E&L managers saw it and intervened and eventually settled the claim. Which is why it could be worth putting their name in the title.

I would suggest you write an "Official Complaint" and mention in this that you abided by the clause by locking the bike to an immovable object and that had the bike not been in a building it would have been covered if it was locked to an immovable object (Assuming it states this in the policy). E&L have to deal with the complaint in a proper way and once this has been done you then have the option of taking the matter to the Ombudsman. The FOS takes months to handle a claim but it will cost E&L circa £500 whether they win or lose so this may prompt them to actually be fair

Kittian_the_Blue

Is the communal bike store open to public access, or is it behind a lockable gate?

duffpaddy

The communal bike store can only be accessed from within the building itself which is of course securely locked. The cycle store has no direct external access.

The cycle store does have a lockable door however, each resident is issued with a key to lock it so it only useful if the last resident left it locked. There was no forced entry so it's highly likely the door wasn't locked at the time of the theft or someone who had a key committed the burglary. That's something for the police to work out so I can't really comment any further.

I've emailed an appeal to the claims manager so will see what he comes back with.

dacouch

Do you have a link to the policy so we can have a read of it as we may be able to find useful information for you.

duffpaddy

No link unfortunately but I can scan a copy of the policy.

What's the best way of hosting the scanned copy of the document (PDF) as I can't seem to attach things to my post?

lisyloo

I would write a foprmal complaint via theior formal complaints procedure.
Send by recorded delivery (75p) to make sure it doesn't get "lost in the post" (I mean E&L cynically use that as an excuse).

They will write official sounding letters, trying to fobb you off, so try to stay objective and proceed through the process.
You may have to write 3 or 4 letters before getting to the "deadlock" stage.

Once there you can complain to Ombudsman which will cost E&L something in the region of £400-£500 (don't know the exact figure).
You will then get an independent decision.

Note this willtake MONTHS, so if you are in a position to do so, you mioght want to purchase another bike.
Sometimes it can take 6 months for your case to be assigned at the Ombudsman, so don't expect immediate action, but ultimately you have free access to an independent body reviewing your complaint.

duffpaddy

Unfortunately I don't have enough cash to shell out on a new bike. Old for new my bike would be worth approximately £950 so I'm totally relying on my insurance policy.

I was under the impression that scenarios like this were the reason to get one

Kittian_the_Blue

Sounds to me like you have a perfectly acceptable claim, good luck with the complaint and let us know how you get on