Insurance voided due to underinsurance. Help please!

Norfolk_Jim

An interesting saga and a lesson learned for me, though fortunately / unfortunately, whichever way you want to look at it, I don't have anything left of any real value to cause me such a problem. I always read my paperwork thoroughly and I keep it on file and every 4 months I read through it again so that I remember what is covered on the policy - I still forget though - I forgot my pet insurance paid for kennel fees if a spouse was in hospital, when my spouse was in hospital and I had trouble finding help to look aftert the dogs!
Good for you OP that just before Christmas your case is decided in your favour - I have some sympathy for insurance companies with all the fraud they face, at the same time Its a love / hate relationship as I dont trust them not to weezel their way out of paying up or taking forever to settle claims.
The thing about this board that interests me is that the contributors tend to be hard nosed and not too sympathetic for the less knowledgeable - yet their advice is often very good even if they are a bit harsh with people who come on here
So Merry Christmas to you all and thanks for the knowledge I've gained on here - OP, hopefully your tale of woe will encourage others to take extra care on these matters, thanks.

brownie4583

Congrats Suali.I had the same problem with Esure but after contacting my solicitor and Financial Ombudsmen i have now got my claim settled and the cancellation of my policy removed from my record!
Keep up the fight!!!

magpiecottage

2sides2everystory wrote: »

And why on earth not?

Because justice should be based on evidence and fact, not mob rule.

MSE'ers warned me when I changed that esure were not as cuddly as Michael Winner used to make out - I think maybe I should look around come renewal.

I don't think Michael Winner as esure used to make out!

Parking_Trouble

suali_uk wrote: »

Hey folks what's up! Merry Xmas to one and all. We have a result, I emailed the Dom Littlewood show re: our situation and they took up the case. I also complained to the FOS with a thorough trail of emails and communications. Esure refused to communicate with Dom on the basis that they had rightfully cancelled my policy due to underinsurance and would not reinstate or discuss the matter unless the FOS upheld my complaint. Luckily the FOS upheld my complaint on the grounds that esure did not ask about my high risk goods on their website hence they could not therefore void the policy as they knew what they needed to know and I didn't! The fos suggested,the fact they didnt ask and i wasnt deliberate in the misrepresentatin they could not then void my policy on grounds of underinsurance and underwriting criteria of 1/3rd high risk as their webiste did not explain this and they knew of this criteria but i didnt. Result! Esure then started communicating with Dom and we got a reinstated our insurance and the claim was settled fully plus 8 % interest paid for delays as instructed by the FOS. Esure would not have settled so quickly or fully had it not been for the Dom show! So merry Xmas all and remember never giv up the fight in this David and Goliath war.... We were lucky we had the media on our side and acheived the maximum settlement, but the FOS is there for everyone... ;-)

Very well done. It is always worth the fight when you know there has been an injustice.

The insurers like to suck you in with a cheapish quote and then look for every excuse to reduce the payout. They have an obligation to make their T&C's crystal clear.

We are not lawyers so they cannot expect us to read and understand all the small print.

I support the Insurers in trying to prevent fraud bit what happened to "innocent until proved guilty"?

Merry Xmas :T

suali_uk

mikey72 wrote: »

Don't you mean post 3, when you dismissed nearly any chance of the FOS agreeing with the op?
Or post 7 when you said the same again?

Lol, thanks for noticing mikey....

suali_uk

I did like the "fly on the wall approach from flamecloud & dunstonh to start with as it helped think outside the box, it's their total siding with the insurers that depressed me in the end and could demoralise others to give up. Folks please be supportive to newbies and don't expect lay people to be experts & condemning of innocent actions! Finally, apparently esure are writing out to all policy holders to review their valuables cover... That's a good start in not setting people up to fail.... Happy holidays...

BoGoF

suali_uk wrote: »

Lol, thanks for noticing mikey....

So is it pats on the back all round for those who agree with you?

This seems to be a 50:50 case where, some may argue, you got lucky. The only thing worse than a bad loser is a gloating winner. You got your result but there is no need to abuse those who see things from the 'other side'.

dunstonh

it's their total siding with the insurers that depressed me in the end and could demoralise others to give up.

It wasn't siding with them. It was showing you where the arguments you used were likely to fail. In the end your complaint wasn't upheld on the things you talked about on this thread. So, the comments were correct.

huckster

For anyone interested. This case was shown on the Don't get done, get Dom programme today. It is on the BBC I player.

sarahgail

We had a similar experience with Sheilas Wheels after we were burgled in August 2010. I posted on this site at the time for advice, but in short it turned out we were underinsured which was a genuine shock to us and which was probably quite over-exaggerated as per advice from Cunningham Lindsay when completing a value at risk form, so SW voided our policy. After several letters back and forth to Sheilas Wheels, they stated their decision to void was final and closed the case. I have complained to the FOS in April 2011, who have said it can take a long time to get a response from them as they are very busy.

Should I write to SW again in light of the tv programme or leave it with the FOS?

Thanks