New for old cover... new cost exceeds "single item limit"?

FlameCloud

Thats not index linking though, is it?

This is the same type of policy that the OP has- one where they offer cover and you need to tell them if anything is worth more.

dacouch

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

That's easy. I didn't have to value mine. RIAS just apply a standard value to the contents of an average house of the size insured, the same as they did for buildings. You only need to tell them if you want a higher level of cover.

There's a major flaw in Rias Contents Cover, they give £50k contents which is just about sufficient for the average home. However they have very low total sum insured for what they define as "High Risk" items which incidently includes many items most other Insurers would not place in this category.

It would generally be expected that an average home could have 33% of their contents sum insured eg the £50k as "High Risk" items, thus circa £15k would be a more desirable limit

Their definition is thus

jewellery, precious stones, articles
made from gold, silver and other precious metals, clocks, watches, furs,
photographic equipment, business equipment, binoculars, telescopes,
musical instruments, curios (small articles of curiosity or special interest,
valued as a collector’s item), pictures and other works of art, guns and
collections of stamps, coins or medals. Pairs or sets of items are regarded as
one item.

With the following total limits

No. of bedrooms 1 2 3 4 5+
Max. claim £5,000 £6,000 £7,000 £9,000 £12,000

http://www.rias.co.uk/webfiles/uploads/Policy_Booklet072008.pdf page 11.

I would strongly recommend you ensure this is sufficient to replace your entire contents that Rias deem to be "High Risk"

mikey72

Again though, the FOS take a very dim view of any insurer who's t&c's are not normal for the industry. So Rias would be in difficulty straight away.

dacouch

mikey72 wrote: »

Again though, the FOS take a very dim view of any insurer who's t&c's are not normal for the industry. So Rias would be in difficulty straight away.

Their level of High Risk cover is not amazingly unusual for hoime insurance online purchases which is driven by price. Unfortunately some Insurers chose a headline grabbing building and / or contents sum insured but then limit their liabilities by placing a relatively low High Risk total sum insured.

There are a small amount that offer a total of £5k and have the cheek to include items such as computers and televisions (In addition to the standard definition|)

mikey72

dacouch wrote: »

Their level of High Risk cover is not amazingly unusual for hoime insurance online purchases which is driven by price. Unfortunately some Insurers chose a headline grabbing building and / or contents sum insured but then limit their liabilities by placing a relatively low High Risk total sum insured.

There are a small amount that offer a total of £5k and have the cheek to include items such as computers and televisions (In addition to the standard definition|)

That's the problem with having a policy of headline grabbing, then trying to wriggle out in the small print.
The FOS will redress the balance for the customer fortunately.

albacookie

MrChips81 wrote: »

If I state "my bikes worth £5k", and pay the premium, i'm sure they wouldn't simply pay out the £5k, they'd be searching round for an "equivalent" model for as little money as possible??

I insured by bike as a separate item and I had to tell them the make and model so presumably they'd use that to verify the value.

lisyloo

I insured by bike as a separate item and I had to tell them the make and model so presumably they'd use that to verify the value.

They would not verify it at the premium stage though, they'd only verify it at the claim stage.
So it's your reponsibility to make sure you aren't under-insured or over-insured (and pay too much).
Personally I think it's safer to be a little over-insured as that caters for price variations during the year.
At the end of the day it's still the householders responsibility to get this right.

lisyloo

Is that a list of the places you need to visit to produce an inventory?

:-)
A list of stuff in your house and what it costs to replace.
A bit like going to gym - you might dread it but when you get on with it, it's not so bad and obviously it's easier to do the second/third time as you already have the list.

MrChips81

Quick update on this.
Had an hr's phone call with Axa yesterday and they're sending a form to fill in the full details of the bike, all components etc.

They have said that if it will cost over the single limit to supply new (through them) then they will honour the limit of £1500 but no more.
I asked whether a cash settlement would be possible if that does end up the case so I could buy a nearly new bike/last yrs model etc however the claims manager seemed unsure.

So essentially i'll need to wait until their supplier can value the bike fully before anything else.

The policy was arranged through the AA 4 yrs ago, and has automatically renewed each year. This was the first year that it passed to Axa to underwrite, however the bike itself is definitely covered (unlike policies taken out directly through Axa).

Just to add something into the mix... I emailed the AA brokers yesterday to ask on what I should be using when valueing my contents: "The cost I paid", or "The cost to replace the item new" and have a response back in writing that it should be "the cost I paid". If that's incorrect then at least it shows just how easy it is to get incorrect advice!

It looks like the only possibility of getting anything additional to the single claim limit is to argue the case with AA as the brokers as it is clear they don't advise people correctly.

Lisyloo: I do agree with your input and it makes sense, however not everyone is an expert in insurance and so many people do need to rely on the broker or company to help when applying.

If the situation of undervalueing/overvalueing appears to be a lose-lose on the customers part then surely the insurance companies should be obliged to provide very very clear advice and assistance? I have read through my paperwork and there is nothing in regards to how to value your items, so I for one defintely think the insurance companies could do a whole lot more!

vaio

MrChips81 wrote: »

.......I emailed the AA brokers yesterday to ask on what I should be using when valueing my contents: "The cost I paid", or "The cost to replace the item new" and have a response back in writing that it should be "the cost I paid". If that's incorrect then at least it shows just how easy it is to get incorrect advice!...../QUOTE]

That sounds like a "get out of jail free" card to me and should ensure that you get the full value