Insurance Help

as009

Evening to you all,

I have tommorow a telephone interview with direct group in regards to a claim on my television. I just wondered what i should expect, i have already told them what has happened, and i think it may be to do with that this is the second claim in 5 months. My previous claim was for my previous tv which got knocked down by the christmas tree base being unstable.

The TV i got with that claim is now upstairs too expensive to have downstairs, i bought a 40inch LCD from Asda whilst awaiting the outcome of the previous. which is the one that was downstairs that is now damaged, i came down the other week, to see the curtain pole on the floor, a metal one it put up by the landlord was on the floor and no damage to the tv ie no cracked screen, but the screen was damaged when i switched it on. I assumed the cat had pulled at the curtain whilst trying to get up as she does like to scratch therefore pulling the curtain and pole down as it was a bit loose. This is what i told my insurer and now they want this telephone interview tommorow, as my claim is with the investiagions team, i have nothing to hide and would welcome any advice on what to expect.

Just_Some_Guy

Repeat claimants always attract scrutiny, especially for electrical things where many people mix up "insurance" with "extended warranty".The investigations guys will ask you a lot of questions to try and catch you out. Any inconsistencies in what you say will be used as reasons to deny your claim. The facts are the facts, so you won't say anything inconsistent and your claim will go ahead. People with dodgy claims find themselves being asked awkward questions like "didn't you say the TV was on the opposite wall?", or "Sony? I thought you had a Panasonic?".

as009

Thanks for that information, i've just read on the internet that they use lie detectors etc, like ive said i have nothing to hide, and already confirmed this to the lady who booked my interview yesterday, she said it was just to go over the facts.

dacouch

Google "Cognitive Interview" for an explanation of the type of interview it will be.

Do not be tempted to lie as they are very likely to discover it, if you tell the truth and stick to the truth you should be ok

Sally_A

If the cat did bring the curtain pole down - they may look at the pet as the "root cause", and many insurers exclude pet damage.

If it was bad DIY by the landlord, that is a different matter and should be covered by Accidental Damage cover.

*Scarlett

Most insurers will exclude damage caused by domestic pets so if the cat did it you may not be covered but check the policy book.

If you don't know that it was the cat then it could be classed as a normal accidental damage claim.

Just tell the truth about the events as best you remember them.

TSx

*Scarlett wrote: »

Most insurers will exclude damage caused by domestic pets so if the cat did it you may not be covered but check the policy book.

If you don't know that it was the cat then it could be classed as a normal accidental damage claim.

Just tell the truth about the events as best you remember them.

The FOS viewpoint is that if the pet hasn't caused the damage directly then the exclusion shouldn't be applied - if a cat knocked over a candle, which burned the house down, it would hardly be fair to repudiate the claim (poor example, because the pet exclusion is usually under the AD section, but you get the idea)

The exclusion is concerned with damage which comes as part and parcel of owning a pet - spillages, scratching, tearing etc.

In fact, where I work (due to previous FOS rulings against us) if we have a claim for a pet which has fouled due to illness, then we do not apply the exclusion as the damage was caused by the illness rather than the pet.

Sally_A

Good shout NSx, whilst I appreciate cat/candle would be a fire claim, never considered "ill animal on carpet/furnishings not being down to animal damage - has this been held up and agreed by the FSA/FCA/FOS etc.?

Carp (literally), I could have had a new carpet out of our old dog with IBS!

TSx

Sally_A wrote: »

Good shout NSx, whilst I appreciate cat/candle would be a fire claim, never considered "ill animal on carpet/furnishings not being down to animal damage - has this been held up and agreed by the FSA/FCA/FOS etc.?

Carp (literally), I could have had a new carpet out of our old dog with IBS!

Depends on what you mean by 'held up'

Once upon a time, before TCF was around (and whilst it was still bedding in), we used to rigidly apply policy wording, only changing our decisions when our complaints department looked it at, if the policyholder pushed to make a complaint.

These days, handlers are empowered to make the correct decisions, not just in line with policy wording, but considering what is far (that's not to say we don't repudiate claims, but we are fair in doing so) - where our approach in applying policy wording or conditions is considered wrong by the FOS, we have to modify our handling guidelines - pet damage is one where we have certainly changed our approach based on FOS feedback, how other insurers would deal with it I'm not sure.