Insurance voided due to underinsurance. Help please!

rs65

suali_uk wrote: »

These figures are incorrect and fabricated by the loss adjuster they appointed who did his upmost to inflate values of what was left. When i challenged the loss adjuster about over valuing he got very shirty and said i should let him do his job and accept what he says as he does it everyday, he said he will recommend the claim is settled but at proportion of underinsurance for high risk items and we couldn't argue with his valuations.

Have you actually done a calculation yourself?

suali_uk

Thanks so much folks you've been very helpful. By the way selden I have used your template with few changes to write final complaint for reconsideration. Will keep you all posted when I hear back from them. Thanks again.

WombleSW20_2

Hi Suali_UK

While I didn't have a policy terminated, I had a similar complaint upheld by FOS when a diamond ring was stolen and the risk adjusters estimate of the replacement cost was nearly double the receipt value (mainly as the price of gold had appreciated so much in recent years). The insurer only offered to pay for the recipt value. The adjudicator found in my favour on the grounds that policy docs were not sufficiently clear enough to highlight the need to get a new valuation at each renewal. Also, they found that during the telephone call to set up the policy, the adviser stated that the policy offered 'new for old' replacements.

Worth quoting this if you go to FOS...........

On the policy cancellation course of action, I'm prettty sure that FOS or even the FSA would come down pretty hard on them as cancellling a customer policy on the basis of an oversight such as this is in breach of TCF.

suali_uk

hi womble, thanks for your input. it gives hope in dispair!! hopefully they will reconsider their position after my last letter. if not then fingers crossed the FOS will help us in this awful situation. meanwhile, its a waiting game for me now. they have 8 weeks to respond... ps what do u mean by breach of tcf?

brownie4583

Hi,
I am in exactly the same situation as you with Esure!I have been had home insurance with Esure for around 6 years now and have never claimed a penny in all that time!
Around 3 and a half months ago we got burgled and a lot of the items stolen were jewellery,mostly my wife's.A loss adjuster was sent out a few days later to take our statement,see photos,our list etc etc and then proceeded to walk around my house completing a 'risk assessment'!!
Heard nothing for around 3 weeks,when i contacted the loss company,working on behalf of Esure,(very badly i must add!),i was told the loss adjuster had left the company with some of our details!This went on,they had got them,hadn't got them etc etc,arranged another visit by another loss adjuster who never turned up,no call or anything!When i rang them and told them my solicitor was going to be claiming for loss of earnings they suddenly had all the details then!!
I was then sent the 'risk assessment' form and my statement to sign and what a joke that was!!He had stated £4,000 for clothes,£500 for a £150 tv in the bedroom,£250 for jewellery which had all been stolen,£1,000 for cutlery in the kitchen etc etc.I copied the forms and ammended them accordingly,signed them and sent them back to the company!Around 4 weeks later i was called by the valuation company requesting my list,photos,evidence etc as they could not obtain them from the loss company,who told me on the phone minutes later,"We have sent them the details" an hour ago!!!LIE!!!
Anyway,this has dragged on and on,and now 3 and a half months later they have written to me saying my claim has been rejected and my policy cancelled because i am grossly under insured!I have contacted Esure yesterday,obviously extremely unhappy with that decision and the disgusting way we have been treated by them!
I do not know where they have got their figures from,and the grossly inflated 'risk assessment' figure is the main reason for this!
I,and no one else i have spoken to about this,has never heard of this 'risk assessment' set up as everybody i have spoken to just ring their company,give a list of stolen or damaged items,and are paid out within 2-3 weeks!
I have complained and i have an appointment with my solicitor on friday about this matter,and also i will be contacting the financial ombudsmen,trading standards,name and shame etc etc!Esure have told me i should have increased my limits to cover my wife's jewellery etc and it says that on the policy,but i said where does it say on my policy when i claim you are going to send a prat round to come up with a ridiculously inflated sum,which then renders me under insured!!
Esure are fully aware of our circumstances,which has been very upsetting for my wife also as some of the items of jewellery stolen where her late mother and sister's,who passed away only 3 months prior to the burglary aged 46!!
I am appalled by the way we have been treated by this company,although looking around on the internet,they have a reputation for this by the looks of things!!
They could have paid out a reduced figure,or an average or whatever,and i think it is harsh as i have not claimed a penny and stayed with them for 6 years now,and they have told me i am a loyal customer!!!What a laugh!!!
I have told them unbeknown to me,that i have technically not been insured for the past 6 years,as any claim made in that time would have resulted in the same way,no pay out and policy cancelled,so i will be claiming for 6 years premiums refunded and compensation!
I am fuming about this and i will be taking every measure i can to get satisfaction,and it is now the principle more than the money.
I wonder how many 1,000's of householders are in the same situation,paying their premium,thinking they are fully insured for theft when they are not!!
Anyone else in the same situation??

brownie4583

I have just been making enquiries regarding alternative insurance cover and because i have made a claim and my policy has been cancelled i am struggling to get any cover at all!
I have found a couple of companies i can get cover with,but they won't insure me until my claim is resolved 1 way or the other!My property is on mortgage and i am now currently not covered at all which is very worrying to say the least!
How do i stand now if say there was a gas explosion and my house was destroyed,how would i stand with the mortgage?Thanks Esure!!!!

brownie4583

I have just found out today that the loss adjuster has stated £1,000 for a damaged fence panel in my garden which i added to my claim list but stated i wasn't claiming for it as i had repaired it myself!!
A new fence panel is £16.99 in Homebase!!I have now taken out new cover with a different reputable company and they have told me there is something seriously wrong at Esure with their figures!
My complaint is now being investigated,and i will be telling my story to my solicitor,financial ombudsmen,all the name and shame sites and anyone else who will listen!!
They are gaining a reputation for this sort of thing by what i have been reading on the net!A load of rubbish!!!

suali_uk

So true brownie, I am trying to control myself and what I say. But honestly if I could get hold of that decision maker I could throttle them. Regardless of the fact that we have to pay for all that was stolen when we thought we were insured the biggest issue remains that we are uninsured at present. As you say we cannot get insurance elsewhere until this matter is resolved, so our home buildings and contents are not covered in any way. We also had home emergency cover through esure. Had to call yesterday as our gas boiler broke down leaking etc. However, esure have cancelled that so I had to pay £195 for call out and repair today when I was actually insured upto £750 for such a situation. Have enquired to get separate swinton home insure but they say same have to resolve void issue before they can provide cover. It is particularly annoying that they have voided the policy swiftly but have not yet refunded the premium they said they would, obviously i would not accept the refund but nevertheless they haven't even issued a refund as they should. Moreover, there's the issue of my wife and my car insurances coming up for renewal in next month but we will have major issue when we say our insurance voided, same with travel insurance, card insurance, etc. Thus, those heartless people have created major heartache, extra costs and difficulties for us for years to come. I hope I hear from them soon so can challenge with FOS as this issue of avoidance has serious ramifications for us as an ordinary family which is very harsh given we simply didn't know the value of our jewellery but now treated like criminals. Let me know which solicitor you using if there is local branch in yorkshire.

brownie4583

Hi,
I am using Roger at Anderson's Solicitors,Saltergate,Chesterfield.I have been to see him earlier today and started action against Esure,he rang them while i was there!!
I am going to the hilt against them for way i have been treated and the stress,and hassle over the past 3 and a half years!!!!Bring it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

suali_uk

Good on u fella, u have a zest about u. I'm going to do same I think... Will get legal advice now. Already spoke to FOS and they indicate they will already accept the unfair dealings about my complaint and how suggested I put in same complaint twice. They will write and ask for final decision from esure so i can progress the complaint to them.