House Insurance - Null and Void on under insured

wood1e

@ TurnUpForTheBooks - Thanks for that.

We are certainly not higher net worth! And nothing worth anything like a Rolex. Maybe a £500 camera, and £500 TV!! Oh and a £800 chicken run - I know ridiculous!!

As I stated my concern is the fact that Tesco Bank has a blanket 'null and void' policy on under insured contents.

@*Scarlett - Thanks for the calculator - only managed to £65,000 and that is with a new £5000 bathroom - Actual cost £650!! And a £6000 kitchen - actual £3500!!

Such is Life!

rs65

wood1e wrote: »

The issue I have never realised before is that on contents insurance if I don't state the correct contents value for the insurance, and my house burns to the ground.

My insurance could be deemed 'null and void'!

Apparently this is true of all house insurance policies!

Potentially correct.

Have a read here

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/under-insurance-household.html


deliberate misrepresentation

If the consumer deliberately misrepresented the sum insured, we are very likely to support the insurer settling the claim proportionately - or avoiding the policy in certain circumstances.

We are only likely to support this resolution if there is compelling evidence that fraud has been committed. For example, there may be evidence suggesting that the consumer deliberately and significantly under-insured to obtain a lower premium.

wood1e

dacouch wrote: »

"If your contents total replacement value shown in your schedule is not enough to
replace all the contents in your home with new items of the same quality and type,
we may refuse to pay a contents claim under this policy or only pay part of a claim"

Page 9 http://www.tescobank.com/assets/sections/homeins/pdf/home-insurance-policy-booklet-0813.pdf

Note it says "may" or "only pay a part of a claim"

Ok thanks at least that clears that up....in usual Finance/insurance speak...

The second part I can live with, if I am stupid enough to under insure than that is may fault.

it is the 'may refuse to pay' is the worry!

rs65

wood1e wrote: »

and that is with a new £5000 bathroom - Actual cost £650!! And a £6000 kitchen - actual £3500!!

They are probably part of the buildings, not contents.

wood1e

rs65 wrote: »

They are probably part of the buildings, not contents.

Probably or definitely!!??!?!!

In the costings wizard thingy at legal and general it states 'Bathroom fittings' and shows a picture of a bath/shower...So included!

dacouch

If you under insure with one of the esure group eg Sheilas wheels etc they are very likely to void a policy and not pay the claim.

*Scarlett

wood1e wrote: »

I should add that part of the reason I am investigating new house insurance is that my current provider Your Insurance - Allianz is saying I would be high risk if I made a claim on my current insurance and wouldn't re-insure me!!

Apparantly one claim is high risk!

The other issue as with all finance companies these days is they have jacked the price up my £100 compared to a new customer!

Would this future speculative claim be the only one in the last 3 years? It is normal that more than 2 claims in 3 years can badly affect your policy But if they are saying that you can't make a claim with a previous clean record then I'm sure you could make a compliant about this.

rs65

wood1e wrote: »

Probably or definitely!!??!?!!

In the costings wizard thingy at legal and general it states 'Bathroom fittings' and shows a picture of a bath/shower...So included!

Assuming they are fitted kitchen and bathroom then definitely !!??!??~~**^^

wood1e

@*Scarlett - Never Claimed...just phoned up to enquire as shed got robbed the other night.

Just phoning to cancel with Allianz...not worth staying with a insurance company that doesn't like paying out, if needs must.

As it is the robbers have done me a favour and stolen three strimmers none of which work! And an electric drill that doesn't drill straight!!!

InsideInsurance

wood1e wrote: »

it is the 'may refuse to pay' is the worry!

The way to avoid the "may" then is to ensure you arent under insured.

100k really isnt High Net Worth (never heard it called higher before) territory but is the floor at which the Mid Net Worth and HNW insurers start to enter the market. Really they are looking at people higher up the food chain and their pricing and level of cover reflects this.

Blanket insurance doesnt absolve you of needing to calculate your contents value as there are very few unlimited contents and even those that do exist still require you to set an inner limit on valuables/ high risk - though this at least makes it easier to manage the list of items. Going for the highest limit possible isnt very MSE and again can result in fraud investigations