home insurance claim help please??

simonjack

HI
I damged a power amplifier recently by knocking over ac up of coffee on to it. I am with Halifax home insure and have a new for old type of cover. I was happy for them to try and repair the amplifier but they have informed me that they can not repair the item. They asked to to prove ownership of the amplifier.( i thought the fact that i had sent my amplifier to them would be enough proof). I bought the item used at a cost of £3500 privately over 3 years a go. I only had a hand written receipt which i have sent to them and they have now received. They have done some investigation by calling hifi retailers who have told them the model is no longer produced and the equivalent model with same spec etc is £20000. They also told the halifax that if they send the broken item to them they will receive a £5000 discount from the £20000 orice. Halifax are now saying they will only refund me the cost which i initially payed dfor the item. I have said to them it is not my fault the price of the equivalent is now such a high price. Tey have said their first and final offer of £3500 is the only offer i will get and that usually they would not even pay out with just a hand writted receipt. Does anyone have any advice on where i stand with Halifax? They keep saying that i could have bought the amplifier in a broken state for all they know which is not the case.

Mungo76

Keep going at it, if your policy is new for old, like for like, then that is your entitlement.

Them saying they wouldn't normally pay for this, or you may have done that is nonsense.

(I'm not suggesting) You can't have half a fraud, either they don't believe your paperwork and prove so, or don't believe the accident happened as reported again and it was wear and tear/mechanical failure prove so, or they accept your claim and settle as per the terms of the policy.

simonjack

Thanks for you reply its very much appreciated. They just seem to be saying accept the offer or dont so not sure where to go from here. Should only having a hand written receipt and having bought it second hand make a difference to me not receiving a new replacement? They suggested if i could find the person i bought it from ( over 3 years ago) they could maybe send someone out to interview him. I have actually driven around the town i bought it from today trying to find the guys house but couldnt remeber where he lived

dacouch

Are you still able to contact the person you purchased the amp from and / or did you keep a screen shot of the advert?

Is there a limit within the Halifax policy for audio equipment?

FlameCloud

I think there is a £1,500 sal for audio items?

Caz3121

There does appear to be a High Risk item limit of £1,500. I assume the initial form asks for any high value items separately (and you possibly payed an additional cost to cover), what value did you use then?

jonesMUFCforever

FlameCloud wrote: »

I think there is a £1,500 sal for audio items?

In that case I would accept the £3500 offered unless you had specific insurance for this item - did you know its true value was £20k?
If you push them they could turn round and refuse your claim by claiming you were under insured.

FlameCloud

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

In that case I would accept the £3500 offered unless you had specific insurance for this item - did you know its true value was £20k?
If you push them they could turn round and refuse your claim by claiming you were under insured.

It isn't my claim.

paddyandstumpy

How was the Halifax policy taken out?

You could try and argue that it's unusual to specify audio equipment over £1,500; and your attention wasn't drawn to this.

It's an outside chance, but a semi valid argument and worth a try.

Blibble

As other have said, they cannot pay you out the price you paid for the item under new-for-old cover (e.g., buying items second-hand off eBay / private sales etc). They would need to put you in the position you were in pre-incident in respect of the item being claimed for; a £3500 payment is neither here nor there.

The item should just be covered under your contents limit; usually SAL will apply to items away from the home. I would push for the true value of the unit (i.e., £20000) unless they can advise of a prohibitive limit.

EDIT - In regard to the proofs you have supplied, have they explicitly said they are not suitable? They cannot reduce the value of settlement based on thinking the proofs are a bit naff, as noted by Mungo76. If they need more info, could you supply a copy of a bank statement from the time of purchase to evidence the transaction?

Daniel54

You cannot buy something used and claim for the cost of buying it new.The amplifier was used and had a value of £3,500 at the time it was insured.Putting you back to the position you were in before the loss is, as an absolute maximum, the cost of buying an equivalent amplifier second hand on ebay ( or elsewhere).

From what has been said,this is a generous offer and there is no mileage in not accepting it.

The offer is to indemnify you against the full purchase price of the used amplifier ( as per the handwritten proofs provided) which would also appear to be in excess of the normal single item limit.

You are insured for old for old