insurance claim refusal

blueochre

They have issued a letter which 'represents their final decision'.

katejo

ROY47 wrote: »

What is the last or final door you go out of when you leave the house ?

If it's the porch door then I think your onto a loser unfortunately as tesco say "final exit door"

if they ask you the same question what's your answer ?

Insurance company's are so strict these days

Based on this, could they argue that a client has to have a porch and porch door? I don't have a porch but would lock it if I did.

Dangermac

blueochre wrote: »

My home was broken into on wednesday this week and when I tried to claim on my tesco home insurance I was told that it was invalid as the porch (which is an addition to the house) was not locked even though the front door had all the security stipulted in the policy!
They used the term 'final exit door' in the endorsements. I am trying to argue that the final exit door to the 'house' was locked. Has anyone had any experience of this?

Blueochre. I think that the insurer are being unreasonable. I believe that you whave a decent chance of winning this battle. I will explain my rationale below.

Presumably, you policy has a condition of some description, which states that all security protection at the property must be put into operation when you are not at home. However...

Assuming that the insurer was not aware, as such, of the existance of the porch, then in my view, this is simply an additional security protection, which the insurer were not aware of at inception, therefore, they were in no worse position when the break-in occurred, as they would have been had the porch not been there.

In my view, the fact that the porch could assist the burglar by giving some secrecy to their actions is, to some extent, irrelevant.

If you view your 'internal' front door as being the final exit door, then I believe that the above arguement would work well in your discussion with the insurer. It is also worth having a chat with the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) Technical Helpline - 020 7964 1400. Although the helpline information is informal and non-binding, it could be of good persausive influence when speaking to the insurers.

Furthermore, in terms of any reference to 'Disclosure of Material Facts', the existance of a porch is unlikely to be a disclosure requirement because , if anything, it increases the security at the premises (had it been locked - but that's a different issue altogether). Features which reduce risk are unlikely to be classified as 'discosable'.

Ultimately, you can make an official complaint to the FOS, however, this will take a lot of time and energy. Best to resolve it without the FOS if at all possible. If you havent already exhausted the insurer's complaints procedure then I would recommend that you call/write to a manager/customer services manager, or ultimately, the Managing Director.

If no joy, contact the FOS and make an official complaint.

Please keep me updated, and let me know if I can provide any additional information.

Good luck

DM

forgotmyname

katejo wrote: »

Based on this, could they argue that a client has to have a porch and porch door? I don't have a porch but would lock it if I did.

?? Doesnt make sense to me?


Dont have to have a porch.

If you dont have a porch its like leaving the front door open but locking the internal doors..

Final exit would appear to be the porch in the OP's case.

Made me think now. Would my wooden leanto greenhouse be classed as the final exit door at the rear of my property?

I only use it to shelter from the elements and start my seedlings off. Its not a real room/door as such.
Maybe i should take the door off?

Must check that.

dunstonh

I think that it is one of those areas where Tesco are in the right legally but the FOS would apply fairness as long as the entry wasnt via that front door and no items were in the porch.

june.elizabeth

This thread prompted me to ring my Insurers (The Co-op) and pose the question of locking the porch door. They informed me that my Porch Door (as the final exit door from the property) must be locked at all times the property is vacant and also when we go to bed. So glad I read this thread but sorry for the op.