Furious with bradford & bingley home ins

samuela66

I have never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life, I received my new quote with them today it was over a £100 dearer than last year, I called to ask why and he said it was because I had made a claim ( I hadnt, I had enquired over my roof) but they made such a fuss saying I had to pay the first £100 and my policy would go up that I paid the £275 myself. Well apparently I have had a "LOSS" which in there books is the same as a claim.... can you believe it, so I have to pay for the privelidge twice of not claiming for my roof. I told him I had a better quote off Norwich Union and he said had I told them about my "loss", so all you people who dont claim like myself will our insurances be void because of this, is there anyone out there who can clarify this for me.
Sam

Altarf

samuela66 wrote:

so all you people who dont claim like myself will our insurances be void because of this

Yes, your insurance could be void unless you tell the new insurance company.

Insurance is a contract of ultimate good faith and unless you tell them that there was an incident that you did not claim for, they could void the policy.

For example, if you had your car broken into 10 times, but never claimed as only items of minimal value were stolen, the insurance company would want to know as you are obviously parking somewhere dodgy. They would then load the premium accordingly.

As insurers share information your old company will quite possibly have passed details of your incident to the new company.

MarkyMarkD

Samuel

I wouldn't say that they'd "made such a fuss" - of course they have to inform you about the excess when you claim, as otherwise you wouldn't necessarily realise that you would have to bear some of the cost of the incident.

I have sympathy with paying the claim cost yourself rather than going through the hassle of claiming, but Alt's comments are quite right - you should always disclose any relevant circumstances whether or not you formalised them by making a claim, as it does affect the risk of your policy to the insurer.

mrcow

How irritating :mad:

Okay, it's just an idea, but have you tried a quote with Tesco? It's just that they they don't ask whether you've had any previous claims, and so the premium won't be affected. To ensure that you comply with their T&Cs, you just have to have:

Not suffered more than two incidents of loss, damage or liability, whether insured or not during the last three years.
Not suffered a burglary within the last 12 months

There are other T&Cs so check out the website, but after we'd made a claim for a burst pipe a couple of years ago, I found Tesco so much easier to renew with.

May be worth a try to see if they are any cheaper?.....

samuela66

Hi Mr Cow,

The quote I have had off Norwich Union is a lot less and it just asks if I have had any claims in the last 5 years not losses, so I said I hadnt had a claim, what happened was when we had the storms some of my slates moved on the roof, it was £250 to pay for it myself and after talking with the insurers decided to do that as they said my premium would go up, which it has anyway cos of the "LOSS", so if it doesnt ask have I had any losses I am not doing anything wrong am i,
S

mrcow

samuela66 wrote:

I am not doing anything wrong am i,
S

Unfortunately, the only real way to cover your back is to put a call into Norwich Union and clarify what they mean by a "claim". I'm sure that you're fine and that they will agree with you, as the word "claim" is pretty comprehensive isn't it?

But I'd worry for you if you didn't just check your facts. It will give you peace of mind too. Make sure you make a note of who you speak with.

samuela66

Hi All,
Well I called Norwich Union and told them about my "LOSS" and the girl who I spoke to said that it was fine I had never made a claim or been paid out on a claim... so therefore I am doing nothing wrong!!!!!
So I will go with Norwich Unio whos quote was £220 less than Bradford & Bingley.

S

Fortyfoot

Hi there

I have just got my renewal from Norwich Union for buildings and contents. It has gone up about £6 to £220. I did not buy on line last time so I thought I would have a look on the net this time. From what I have read above I might be wasting my time.


NU require that:-
"you must tell us about any insurance related incidents.....whether or not they give rise to a claim"

The cover for my buildings is about 2/3 of the house price as house prices have gone up so much over the past few years. Is this cover enough or should I ask for it to be increased? The answer I am sure would be "yes" if I asked NU .

Fortyfoot

payless

The NU form I have in front of me states you should declare any losses, but then only asks for details of claims
-
of course declare- its then up to the insurer if they want to take it into account

wolftastic_2

Fortyfoot wrote:

Hi there

The cover for my buildings is about 2/3 of the house price as house prices have gone up so much over the past few years. Is this cover enough or should I ask for it to be increased? The answer I am sure would be "yes" if I asked NU .

Fortyfoot

The sum insured for your building is the rebuilding cost NOT the market value. I would imagine if your sum insured is 2/3 of the market value then this is more than enough.