Burglary: forced entry or not?

VfM4meplse

Friends recently found their house ransacked top to bottom whilst out for the day. Its the first time it's happened to them - they have lived in the house for over 40 years - and they are understandably distraught by the violation. In all this time, no claims have been made on the home insurance.

The police were called immediately, and gave the opinion that entry was by "bumping" the lock on front door, which is to the side of the property and shielded by a brick porch, so not visible from the street. Once the police did the necessary assessment, the locks were changed by the insurer's approved workman.

The insurer is now refuting the claim as there was no sign of "forced entry" - apparently that's in the small print of the insurance. So the police are saying one thing, and the insurer is trying to avoid the claim because the door was not damaged (by that I'm guessing they don't mean kicked in). They have suggested that their assessor comes out, which is fine, but the fact remains that the original lock was tampered with, so there will be no physical damage visible on the door itself.

So apart from being a warning to anyone who would reasonably think that home insurance can help you sleep at night, has anyone had a similar experience with their home insurer, and success in making a legitimate claim on the grounds of forced entry?

meer53

I was burgled, they gained entry by snapping the barrel of the lock on my back door. It's a UPVC door.

They prised off the lock plate and used pliers to snap the barrel then just let themselves in.

From the inside it wasn't evident how they'd got in, no damage to the door but the outside showed where they had bent the handle to get to the barrel.

My claim was over £9000, plus the cost of my brand new car which they also took. I had no issues with the insurers, i was paid out in full. My car was never recovered.

Was there no damage at all to the door ? What do they mean by bumping the lock ?

We were in bed at the time of the burglary, never heard a thing. It hasn't scared me, i still leave my car keys downstairs, the Police told me to take them upstairs when i go to bed but if they want to take my car, i'd rather they just take the keys than come upstairs looking for them !

dunstonh

The insurer is now refuting the claim as there was no sign of "forced entry" - apparently that's in the small print of the insurance.

That condition is normally only applied in cases where there are tenants, business visitors to property/work from home, high risk areas, poor claims history and a range of other things. It isnt a condition you would expect to see on the average policy. if none of the above apply then it could be that they had a poor quality policy.

They should continue to argue their case and refer to the FOS if need be.

TSx

Also see if the police officer dealing is willing to write something to confirm they believe the lock was bumped and why. In my experience, they're usually happy to send you a simple email which you can forward onto your insurers (but some may say the insurer has to request the police report directly which can take weeks). Once you have this the onus will be on the insurer to prove there was no forced entry (and the financial ombudsman would almost certainly expect the insurer to treat a bumped lock as forced entry).

InsideInsurance

meer53 wrote: »

Was there no damage at all to the door ? What do they mean by bumping the lock ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_bumping

If it was bumped then there would be no damage because the lock has been picked basically.

As above, its is an uncommon clause in normal house insurance unless there are non-family members living together but some budget providers do include it in all policies.

Ultimately complain and escalate to the FOS. Whilst bumping may well be "forced entry" the issue is that it leaves no evidence and thus it may be the lock was picked or it could be they forgot to lock the door. Unless there is evidence of the lock being tampered with their chances arent good.

VfM4meplse

meer53 wrote: »

Was there no damage at all to the door ? What do they mean by bumping the lock ?

I know little about these things, but apparently its a technique used by robbers to gain entry without causing damage to a door. This link might help.

Excellent advice all, I'm grateful for it.

Eta: its time to name and shame that insurance provider: its Trinity. I've never heard of them!

InsideInsurance

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Eta: its time to name and shame that insurance provider: its Trinity. I've never heard of them!

The only Trinity I know of is an intermediary that specialise in military insurance (kit, service homes etc) and I believe their current insurer is Amlin. Would that make sense?

If it is a forces home insurance policy then I wouldnt be overly surprised of it having some sub prime/ multi-occupancy type clauses as young squadies etc dont have the best of reputations for looking after stuff even if your friends dont fit in this category.

aym280

Son's computer lifted out of a ground floor window on a hot day 2 days after moving into another accommodation.

Son was moved at 6pm on 3 June 2015. He opened the window to air the place as it had been vacanted and it smelt. On 5 June which was a hot day 27 degree C, he found his computer was stolen via a window gap which, unbeknown to him, was entended wider by a burglar and here we go the same saga of violent and forced entry came into pay. Even the police said there was a burglary. The forensic team found finger prints but we still don't know whose. There were two other students in the flat.

Why are these policies deliberately phrased to get out of paying. It's alright for them to take money. I post the full response from compuCover.



- CompuCover <***@compucover.co.uk>

16:28 (16 hours ago)

to me


Dear ***


I have looked in to your claim and the subsequent complaint and unfortunately I am not able to resolve this to your satisfaction.

Firstly I would like to point out that your policy is underwritten by Lloyd’s Syndicate 5820 which is managed by ANV Syndicates Limited, whereas the policy wording that you have located on our website is underwritten by UK General Insurance Ltd on behalf of Ageas Insurance Limited. These two policies are different and will have different exclusions. However as you policy has only ever been with Lloyds, it is the wording that was in place when the policy was incepted and which were emailed to you 21/10/2014 at 14:23 that this claim is validated against.

The policy that you hold with us provides cover for accidental damage and theft, however as with all insurance policies there are exclusions to this. In this case the policy provides cover for theft and accidental damage. While burglaries will be considered under the theft element of this policy, your definition of burglary that you have supplied does not take precedent over the policy wording through with items are covered. Theft from any premises is considered in conjunction with the following policy extracts -
Theft from unoccupied premises unless there is evidence of violent and forcible entry to such premises. A copy of the repairer’s account for the damage to the premises must be submitted with any claim.
Unfortunately in this case while we accept that this theft is genuine and that as you say there is no attempt being made by you to defraud us the circumstances of this incident are not covered by this policy and as such we are unable to pay any part of this claim.
You have noted below that you wish us to liaise with Endsleigh Insurance in order to split the costs. This is not something that we will be able to do for the above reasons and would suggest that you contact your alternative insurance provider and inform them that if your claim with them approved then then they will need to settle the costs in full and not to expect any contribution from us.

Should you remain dissatisfied, you may if you wish, refer your complaint to Lloyd's, who will investigate and assess this complaint. Lloyd's contact details are as follows:

Complaints Team
Market Services
Lloyd’s
One Lime Street
London
EC3M 7HA

Email: [EMAIL="complaints&#64;lloyds.com"]complaints@lloyds.com[/EMAIL]

HELP please as this laptop is a very expensive cult tool, vital to my son's finishing the dgree.

TO ALL PARENTS with teens going to university: stick a poster on the door : HAVE YOU LOCKED ALL WINDOWS?

THE INSURERS ARE HERE TO MAKE MONEY, not to protect you!