Advice on Home Insurance being declared void

michellerfc

I have recently put in a claim with my insurer for escape of water due to a leak.


They contacted me last Wednesday to say that my policy was being reviewed by underwritters as they have found a claim that I had not listed on my policy. They will get back to me within 10 working days, to let me know their decision which will be void my insurance, increase my premium or terms imposed.


I know the claim they are referring to, it was back in 2010 for damage to a window. I had real issues with the insurer at renewal time. The problem being when I got my renewal in from that company, there was no mention of my claim. I called them up and they said they had no record of a claim, could I give them more details. I gave them everything I knew but they still said they can't find anything. I wasn't happy with this so I emailed them and got them to confirm this to me in writing. I now do not have access to that email account (could kick myself). I couldn't therefore put this claim on future policies as they couldn't tell me the cost (I paid the excess direct to window firm) so I had no idea of the cost. No one would insure me if I said I had a claim but didn't know what it cost.


I have since claimed home insurance twice and this record still wasn't on file as they paid out with no problems.


Now it has come back to bite me. It's as if someone has found some old paperwork and has now put this onto the system.


I have no idea where I stand on this one. The claim would have had no effect on my current no claims and when I did a comparison of with and without this claim it made a difference of 61p! If I had the details I would have put them on but my hands were tied.


Doing a quick look on a comparison sites, if they cancel, impose terms or increase my premium, future policies will triple in price and only one company returned a quote. Am I right in saying this will also affect my car insurance as I also have to declare that I have had insurance cancelled? If so this doubles my car insurance. I also note that there isn't a time limit on this and it stays on file forever. So I have worked out that this will cost me an extra £700ish every year for the rest of my life!


It's also a joint policy will this apply to my partner too then?


If anyone has any experience or advice it would be greatly appreciated. I am really worried about this and also the fact that just now my home may not be covered.

dacouch

Who are you insured with? (Also who was the claim with?)

When were your claims (Month and Year) and what were they for?

Which month and year did you take out cover with the current Insurer?

michellerfc

Currently: RSA


Claim made with: E home insurance


RSA told me it was May 2010, I thought it was Feb 2009 but can't actually remember as it's never been on any policies and was so long ago but I am starting to think that date sounds about right.


It was accidental damage to my living room window (stone hit the glass when cutting grass) glass needed replaced. RSA have now told me the claim was for £1073 which astounded me.


I didn't let on I knew about the claim as I thought that could make it worse but I don't feel I should lie as I didn't have any option. The girl I spoke to had little information couldn't tell me if it was buildings or contents or what the claim was for, she said the underwriters have all the detail.


Current insurance taken out April 2013.


I have looked on the internet and can't find any cases that seem similar. I did point out to the girl I spoke to that this claim has never been listed and 2 other claims have been paid out.

dacouch

I would contact E Home and ask them about the claim and to forward you any relevant information eg the email they sent you.

You have not given details of the other claims, these could make a big difference to what happens

The claim being Feb 2009 may make a difference to the situation

Which branch of RSA are you insured by eg More Than?

michellerfc

I will try E-Home insurer but I didn't think they would speak to me without being a current policy holder. Also, with it being their mistake in the first place I thought they would not be very helpful but it's worth a shot.


I think the claim was 2010, I was getting mixed up and thought it was 2009. Either way it would have still been in the 5 year period that they ask about when I took the insurance out last April 2013.


I don't know which branch, I got the insurance through Thamesbank home insurance and they gave me another number to call when I phoned them. The email they sent me just says RSAgroup.

dacouch

You need to bear in mind that not disclosing the claim to RSA is your fault not E Home's fault.

It would help if you let us know when your other claims were and what they were for, as it could make a difference as to whether your claim will be paid or whether your policy will be void.

When dealing with RSA it's important that you tell them the truth and do not try to mislead.

TSx

esure haven't made a mistake as such - regardless of what they said, you knew you'd made a claim with them, and you should have declared it. If you didn't know the amount, did you ring them or just take out the insurance online without disclosing it? I know it's not what you want to hear but you need to take responsibility for this.

I'm presuming in this email they said they couldn't locate any records of a claim from you? This doesn't really help - again, you still knew about it.

It's also no defence that they didn't look into it before - where I work, we don't usually carry out a CUE (checking the claims database) on every claim, we do it on ones where there is suspicion or they have recently been taken out. Were the previous two claims with RSA? If so they may just have decided to pay more attention this time round.

A lot of insurers will decline to quote with 3 claims on your history. If RSA are one of them, it's likely that they will void the policy. The increase isn't likely to be as high as you've said - however you'll not be able to go through comparison sites any more and will need to use a local [non-swintons] broker.

If the policy is voided, then personally, I would still register a formal complaint, and then take it to the financial ombudsman if they don't overturn the voidance - mainly because I've seen a lot of surprising decisions they've made and there's a chance they'll decide it's unfair - although I think this would be unlikely.

Any complaint about esure not providing the claims details would be seperate and not related to the voidance.

michellerfc

They are all small claims:


Other ones are
2011: Contents claimed
£450 carpet
2012: Buildings claimed
Storm damage (roof) £550


All claims with different companies as I move to whoever is cheapest every year

dacouch

The situation is that providing RSA would have covered you had they been aware of the correct details amount your claim then they will pay the claim although may apply the terms they would have had they known about all the claims eg increase the excess and / or premium etc.

The problem you have is you have a lot more claims than the average person, it's to the extent that many companies would not be interested in providing cover. If RSA would not have accepted you as a customer as of April 2013 then they are entitled to void the policy (They would generally refund the premium).

Your problem(s) if RSA void the policy is you will need to declare this forever more which makes it difficult to obtain cover at a reasonable premium. If you add into the mix the four claims it makes it even more difficult (Expensive) to arrange cover.

If RSA do not void the policy and pay the claim (I would not hold your breath) there's a very strong chance they will not offer decline to offer renewal of the policy in April. If you were my client I would be recommending you cancel the policy in late January or early Feburary (You won't get any refund) This would prevent RSA from declining renewal leaving you free to arrange cover without having to declare this. Although obviously you would need to declare all of your claims / incidents.

You need to get onto e insurance and find out the information, if you're polite and friendly most companies would be happy to give you any information they still have even to an ex customer

michellerfc

Thanks for the help. I have emailed Ehome insurer as they charge £1.02 per minute to call! I am really hoping they can help me, possibly find the email they sent me or explain how the record could have been lost then found then input years later.


The strange thing too is the girl on the phone was asking if I have had quotes for the work. Was going through the claims process and asked me to get a few quotes. She was very much business as usual and the way she was talking did make it sound positive that it may be an increase in premium.


I only have 3 claims in total and when I put these in I still get loads of reasonable quotes including the firm I am with. As soon as I tick the box that I have had insurance cancelled it returns one quote at 3 times the lowest price without it. If I say the premium was increased it's still only £15 cheaper than saying they voided it.


If they offer for me to pay the increase in premium, can I refuse and cancel the policy? If so would this mean I don't have to tick that expensive box on the forms?


Do you know if I have to put this on car insurance too?

dacouch

What happened with e insurance is not that relevant as it was you who did not declare the claim.

The reason for contacting e insurance is to find out exactly when the claim was as it might make a difference to RSA due to it possibly being a claim they might not have worried about.

The girl on the phone deals with claims so would have been going through the process she uses to handle a claim. A different department would deal with the non disclosure and whether or not they will void or alter the premium.

The quotes you're receiving are not really relevant unless they are with the scheme you were placed with RSA. This is because if RSA would not have offered cover had you declared all of the claims then they are entitled to void your policy and repudiate your claim. Thamesbank are a broker so deal with lots of different Insurers.

You have four claims in total, the original claim, the two you mention in post 8 and the current claim.

The reason I mentioned about considering cancelling the policy before RSA get around to offering renewal is because RSA do not like customers with a few claims. They have a habit of declining to offer renewal where a customer has more than two claims so cancelling after the claim was paid could avoid them declining to offer renewal which some Insurers ask about when you obtain quotes.

Most Insurers ask about claims, losses and incidents, even if you don't eventually claim for the current claim you would need to still declare this current incident.