'Unfair' Exclusion ?

mrbluejay

Hi All,

I need some help.

I have tried to make a claim on our household contents insurance and it has been rejected out of hand, I feel the exclusion is unfair and I would appreciate your thoughts.

In a nutshell here goes...

I was due to play football, arrived late, walked onto the playing ground the game had started. I had already taken my watch off and placed it in my bag for safekeeping. I put my gym bag down and watched the game, being no more than 15 feet away from my bag. After the game I drove back to Wales (The game was a works arranged game in Newport Pagnell). About 36 hours later I realised I did not have my bag. The only assumption I can make is that I left my bag at the ground and got straight into my car and drove home. Although the bag was within 15ft of me at the ground, my insurers rejected the claim within half an hour of me phoning them as they believed the bag was not within my care at the time. I believe it is more to do with the value of my watch and other items within my bag (i-pod, clothes, sports gear).

This seems incredibly unfair to me and to be a rather catch-all exclusion. The annoying thing is, is that this exclusion has only been in place since April when the policy was renewed, but no mention was made at the time of renewal.

I suppose I am asking two things...

1) Do you believe this is an unfair exclusion ?
2) Should the insurer have specifically told me of this change, does it materially change the policy ?

I have complained to them formally and I am waiting for a reply. I have also contacted the FSA/Ombudsman.

Your opinions would be appreciated.

brazilianwax

Doesn't sound like you took anything like due care of it to me. If you were holding it between your feet, then maybe, but 15ft away - it was far enough away to forget it.

mrbluejay

Thanks for the comment,

I should have said a maximum of 15ft away, I was walking back and forth agonising over my colleagues performance

brazilianwax

mrbluejay wrote: »

Thanks for the comment,

I should have said a maximum of 15ft away, I was walking back and forth agonising over my colleagues performance

okay, well, take this as an example. i drive between cardiff and london each week. when i get to london i have to unpack my luggage. usually i move it all from the car to the lift lobby of my block, travelling between the car and the lobby 2 or 3 times. it's amybe 20-30 feet between the car and the lobby. then i put it all in the lift and go to my floor. i move it all out of the lift and shuttle the luggage to my flat which is about 12-15 feet from the lift.

if someone came along and swiped a bag from the lobby while i was at the car, or from outside the lift while i was in my flat, should my insurers pay?

mrbluejay

I don't think the analogy is similar at all. Picture the scene, a big field, no doors, no walls, no obstructions. I havent put myself in a situation where it is out of my sight, if i turn 180 on my spot, which I was doing talking to others in front and behind. I did not leave the field, nor did I hold the bag for the entire time.

I appreciate where your coming from, but if things are in your care 24/7 would we ever lose anything ?

ben500

mrbluejay wrote: »

I don't think the analogy is similar at all. Picture the scene, a big field, no doors, no walls, no obstructions (which may have concealed my personal possessions from public view and risk). I havent put myself in a situation where it is out of my sight, if i turn 180 on my spot (Apart from that my attention was focused on the efforts of my colleagues whos performance I was agonising over ), which I was doing talking to others in front and behind (who may or may not have been purposely distracting me in order that a cohort may steal my possessions). I did not leave the field, nor did I hold the bag for the entire time. (In fact I can't even really remember if it was there or not when I left)

I appreciate where your coming from, but if things are in your care 24/7 would we ever lose anything ? The critical word here being care, your insurers may regard your actions as careless

This is not meant as criticism more the viewpoint from the insurers side.

mrbluejay

I appreciate that it is not a criticism and if my reply reads that way then I apologise.

But I am hopping mad, it seems that there is no common sense here. We pay for insurance to cover the unforseen, sometimes these instances occur beyond our control, sometimes they occur through our fallibility, whichever way I look at these circumstances, I see no negligence on my part, stupidity perhaps. I also appreciate I'm not objective.

The other thing I have not asked about is this. The initial post is only my assumption of what happened. I know I had the bag at 6:30pm in Milton Keynes, but it wasnt with me in Cardiff a day and a bit later. What happens here ?

ben500

mrbluejay wrote: »

I appreciate that it is not a criticism and if my reply reads that way then I apologise.


But I am hopping mad, it seems that there is no common sense here. We pay for insurance to cover the unforseen, sometimes these instances occur beyond our control, sometimes they occur through our fallibility, whichever way I look at these circumstances, I see no negligence on my part, stupidity perhaps. I also appreciate I'm not objective.

The other thing I have not asked about is this. The initial post is only my assumption of what happened. I know I had the bag at 6:30pm in Milton Keynes, but it wasnt with me in Cardiff a day and a bit later. What happens here ?

Have you reported the loss/theft to the police? if so call your insurers again and tell them you want them to refer your claim to their underwriters for review and supply the crime reference number, if they refuse tell them you wish to escalate through their complaints procedure and ask them to provide written instructions on their set procedure (They are obliged to supply this within I believe seven days of request) to be honest you probably won't have to go that far but forewarned is for-armed.

If not reported do so and follow the above.

CFC

mrbluejay wrote: »

The other thing I have not asked about is this. The initial post is only my assumption of what happened. I know I had the bag at 6:30pm in Milton Keynes, but it wasnt with me in Cardiff a day and a bit later. What happens here ?

I'm not sure why you think that the insurer might even consider paying out. The point is not that you were 15foot from your bag at the game, the point is that you left it somewhere, only remembered it 36 hours later, and you really are not sure where it was left. I think any insurer is likely to take the view that the bag was not in your care (or that you were negligent)...because you don't know where you left it or when. I think you need to check the policy document or addendum that was sent out with your renewal notice. On occasion the renewal letter just accompanies the policy booklet - you are expected to read the key facts and policy document to make sure that the policy fits your needs. If you did not get a letter, nor were sent a policy document detailing the changes, then it appears to me you would have legitimate grounds for complaint.

mrbluejay

Cheers.

Might be a daft question, but in terms of their written procedures, what will that tell me ?

CFC

mrbluejay wrote: »

Cheers.

Might be a daft question, but in terms of their written procedures, what will that tell me ?

Well actually the interesting thing is this - under FSA regs if the complaint is not resolved within 7 days they mst write to you acknowleding receipt of your complaint and telling you they are investigating. Often companies are bit slow with this (but nt all) and do not adhere to it. It makes quite a powerful point if they don't even follow their own complaints procdure...which means it's often easier to get something out of them.....they don't like falling foul of the FSA regs....