Home insurance - different rules for different brokers

Gibsy

Hi all

I have a property which was underpinned in 1983 and as such I pay much more for my insurance premiums than a house which is not underpinned.

When we bought the house we were offered a policy via the broker A-Plan with Ageas. This was withdrawn when we advised that the house had been underpinned. A-Plan advised that Ageas do not cover properties which have been subject to subsidence. As our exchange to completion time was very short, we ended up taking out a very expensive policy with Aviva as we didn't have time to shop around.

This year we our renewal was even more expensive so we've spent a lot of time shopping around. I was offered an Ageas policy via Adrian Flux which was £300 cheaper than Aviva. When I told A-Plan I would not be going with their quote they told me my policy could not be valid as Ageas would not cover houses that have been underpinned. Over the next 3 days I received several calls and emails from A-Plan telling me that I was not covered.

This was obviously worrying. I checked twice with Adrian Flux who confirmed Ageas were definitely aware of the underpinning and were happy to offer cover. Eventually I checked with Ageas direct and they said they have different rules for different brokers. They offer cover via Adrian Flux for underpinned house and not A-Plan.

Is this common, to have different rules depending on the broker?

If so, would this information be transparent to all brokers? I'm wondering whether A-Plan should have been aware of this. If so, would they be obligated to tell me I could get the policy elsewhere?

I'm worried I paid over the odds last year because of bad advice but am not sure of what a broker's obligations are.

Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

paddyandstumpy

Yes different brokers have different rules and schemes with the same insurer. Flux specialise in non standard and this could be why Ageas are willing to write it via them.

There is no obligation for A-Plan to signpost you to a competitor though.

Gibsy

Thanks for the feedback. We have learnt an expensive lesson! It pays to shop around.