Void Insurance Causing Problems

Insurance_Guru_2

Unfortunately, it does sound like you have misrepresented the facts when you took the cover out

This issue is covered by the - Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012. See link address:

legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/6/schedule/1/enacted

Has the insurer returned all your premium?- if not then they are insinuating that you recklessly misrepresented yourself and have voided the policy and refused the claim on this basis.

If they returned your premium then it looks like they have thought you were just careless with your disclosure. This would mean they've voided your policy and refunded because if you'd told them the right details to start with they wouldn't have offered cover.

May be worth doing a dummy quote with them on line again to see if they would have offered you insurance with the correct details. If so, then they should charge you the additional premium they would have asked for if you'd given them the right details and then should honor the claim.

If they wouldn't have quoted, from the information, given i would say that you were 'careless' (by definition) with disclosure and they should at least refund any premiums they've taken.

The FOS may review other information which may help them to give a more favorable decision than I've posted, but hopefully this gives an insight into the insurers thinking and reason for voiding.

You could also approach the FOS to see if they will consider your case on a priority basis if this is currently preventing you from getting affordable mainstream insurance. As said before your probably going to have to await the FOS outcome on this I'm afraid.

olly300

dunstonh wrote: »

No you are not. To be self employed you would be paying class 2 NI. You are an employee as you pay class 1.

To be fair unless you are in certain industries you don't actually know the difference.

Depending on what financial product you are buying you are self-employed or employed. For example for mortgages you are treated as self-employed while for insurance you are treated as employed.

Unless you know the different shouldn't buy any financial product until you actually understand how you are viewed.

dunstonh

Depending on what financial product you are buying you are self-employed or employed. For example for mortgages you are treated as self-employed while for insurance you are treated as employed.

You wouldnt tick the self employed box on the application. You would have different income disclosure and verification requirements to self employed as well. That said it is a fairly common mistake and I have seen bank clerks not know the difference. it is still a mistake though and one the OP doesnt appear to understand.

olly300

dunstonh wrote: »

You wouldnt tick the self employed box on the application.

No I wouldn't because I know what to tick and when to ask - the OP clearly doesn't.

dunstonh wrote: »

You would have different income disclosure and verification requirements to self employed as well.

Actually with the providers I looked at they asked for the same verification and then put an "OR" in their notes listing other things.

dunstonh wrote: »

That said it is a fairly common mistake and I have seen bank clerks not know the difference.

Loads of financial staff don't know the difference.

I have fun telling them I'm not self-employed.

Some of them attempt to correct me before I point out politely that they are talking rubbish. In future I will put in a complaint to their management so posters like the one who started this thread don't get confused.

dunstonh wrote: »

it is still a mistake though and one the OP doesnt appear to understand.

I think he does now.

BTW I noticed a mistake if you actually do a different day-to-day job you don't put company director down.

InsideInsurance

olly300 wrote: »

Depending on what financial product you are buying you are self-employed or employed. For example for mortgages you are treated as self-employed while for insurance you are treated as employed.

Having recently been doing mortgage discussions I can say that none of the companies I spoke to treat you as self employed, they have a separate category for company directors where you are a major share holder of your employer.

I agree that bank staff can get confused easily by these things but like most customer service staff they arent the highest trained or paid people and training focuses on the ~98% of people they deal with who more easily fall into buckets than all the weird and wonderful things that make up the remaining ~2%

System

Actually a company director is legally an "office holder", which is not an employee.
You might in effect be an employee, taking a monthly salary and paying NI, or you could have no salary at all and take annual fees, or dividends.

When I tick "company director" there is usually a secondary box which asks for type of business.
What you actually do on a day to day basis is irrelevant. Most days I sit at my desk and direct the company. But this morning I helped out as a van assistant, and once in a while I replenish the loo rolls.

"Occupation" surely means your basic job description, it doesn't change hour by hour?

[Deleted User]

When I had my own business (limited company) and I applied for Council Tax benefit the Council insisted I filled in a separate 4 page form as I was self-employed. I argued with them that I was not self-employed but an employee of the Company but they weren't having it. They said as far as they were concerned I was self-employed and had to fill in their additional form so I don't think its just the banks and financial sector who find it all confusing!

huckster

Personally think that this is partly the fault of the Insurance company concerned. If they don't Insure people from some parts of the security industry, they should make sure that the relevant occupations are configured in a way that they don't quote or allow the policy to be bought online. People who work in the security industry may work all sorts of hours and commute to many different places of work.

Another case of people being allowed to arrange cover online which has proved to be invalid. It is ok for companies to save money on call centre staff by processing more through online channels, but when they do so, they need to ensure that their systems are set up properly in line with any underwriting requirements. Think the OP has a reasonable case for the FOS to award compo.

Franky0707

To quote the letter sent from Southern rock, the underwriters:

““It has come to our attention that you are a door supervisor.

When completing your policy online via (Asda) to commence on ??st October 2012, you were asked to enter your “Occupation” You entered “Other – Professional”, this was clearly incorrect.

Had we been aware of the above at inception of the policy, we would not have offered insurance under any terms. This was material information which you failed to disclose.

May I draw your attention Asda’s “Terms of Business” which clearly state the following:

Disclosure of Information

CVD expects you to provide complete and accurate information when you take out your insurance policy, throughout the lifetime of the policy and when you renew your insurance. If you’re unsure about disclosing information please contact us for guidance. Any information that may influence your insurer to accept, amend or decline your insurance proposal or renewal must be disclosed. If you’re unsure about disclosing any matter please contact us for guidance.

Failure to disclose any material information or inaccuracies in the information given could invalidate you insurance cover and mean that part or all of your claim not be paid. Any advice we offer will be based on the details you provide.

You’re reminded that it is an offence under the Road Traffic Act to make any false statements or withhold any relevant information to obtain a Certificate of Motor Insurance.

May I also draw your attention to the “Policy Wordings”, under “General Conditions Applying to the Whole Policy, it clearly states:

Your Duty

Changes which may affect Your Cover

Your insurance cover and premium is based on the information You supplied to Us in the most recent Statement of Information. You must check the details carefully when You take out Your Insurance Policy, throughout the lifetime of the Policy and when you renew Your insurance. If You are unsure about disclosing any information please contact Us for guidance on (Asda)

Failure to disclose any information or inaccuracies in the information given could invalidate Your insurance cover and mean that part or all of Your claim may not be paid.

Note: If You fail to provide complete and accurate information to the best of Your knowledge and belief when You take out Your insurance Policy or if You do not tell Us about any relevant changes, We may:

• Reject Your claim.
• Reduce, make deductions from or pay only a proportion of Your claim.
• Cancel and invalidate the Policy.
• Void the Policy, which means to treat as though the Policy never existed.
• Do a combination of the above.
All changes should be made online at (Asda)

You should keep a record of the information You give in relation to this Policy. If You did not or do not give full and accurate information or You fail to notify Us of any changes in circumstances, this Policy may be rendered invalid and We may refuse to deal with any claim You might make.””

I argue that I DID give the most accurate information to the best of my knowledge because I used the most viable options that were available to me online at the time.

Asda are also saying that they will give a full refund, but this still voids my insurance, not fixing the problem.
Eldon are saying they will return my car, because they recovered it from the motorway.

If I were to accept my car back, will this affect the dispute I have with Asda, even though the car is my property?

Are Asda and Southern Rock not breaching ICOBs 8.1.2 R?
-A rejection of a consumer policyholder's claim is unreasonable, except where the evidence is fraud, if it is for:
1. non-disclosure of a fact of material to the risk; or
2. non-negligent misrepresentation of a fact material to the risk; or
3. breach of warranty or condition unless the circumstances of the claim are connected to the breach.

Do I now seek legal aid?

Quentin

Franky0707 wrote: »

.....Do I now seek legal aid?

There's a legal aid checker (for civil cases) online which will tell you if you are eligible.

https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid