Contents insurance won’t pay out after I was broken into.

TylerDurden36

I’ll definitely take it to the ombudsman. It’s the only thing that I can do.

Just made me so angry when the woman said “even I had been given £1 then it would still invalidate the insurance”.

All insurance companies are the same. Will try and find anything they can to deny paying claimants.

Dangermac

TylerDurden36 wrote: »

I’ll definitely take it to the ombudsman. It’s the only thing that I can do.

Just made me so angry when the woman said “even I had been given £1 then it would still invalidate the insurance”.

All insurance companies are the same. Will try and find anything they can to deny paying claimants.

Yes, insurance companies, these days, are arguably more likely to impose the contractual terms of the policy. Many standard policies will not cover business equipment.

However, what you need to accept, is that having expensive and, arguably, specialised/professional, DJ'ing equipment will draw attention to the possibility that you may be undertaking a professional level of DJ'ing. That being the case, many policies will not look to cover this equipment under a standard household policy.

Personally, and without knowing your full circumstances, I struggle to believe that all of your DJ'ing work is for friends/family and that there is absolutely no 'commercial' DJ'ing done.

That said, you know the truth. And if you are truly doing no more than hobby-DJ'ing then I believe that your policy should pay.

The '£1' comment is wrong/red herring in my view, and the FOS will be able to decide as to what is a 'few quid for a drink/petrol' and what is representative of a business relationship.

One last point, you need to be careful of the insurer cancelling the policy because of misrepresentation (of business activities / occupation) and you may wish to consider cancelling the policy before they do it. If they do, this will potentially become disclosable for life and may cause you (expensive) insurance issues.

Good luck with the FOS. They dont so much look at the exact policy wording, but the spirit of the cover and the specific circumstances. So, in my opinion, you have a decent chance of success.

DM

On-the-coast

They don’t have to take the first answer. They have to take the “correct” answer.
They may choose to dispute your answer.
You may have to provide proof of your answer.
If your circumstances are exactly as you’ve stated, I think you have a good case if you are careful and consistent with your responses.

dacouch

One point that may help your argument with the FOS.

I assume you have the kit for home DJing, when you did the gig did you or the venue need to hire in extra equipment eg lights to enable you to have a proper DJ show?

TylerDurden36

All of the gear I have collected over the course of a decade and so most of it is really old and not worth much in comparison to new equipment that an actual DJ would use.

I have been putting on gigs for years playing dance music and I have only ever done it for the love of it and never earned a penny from any of it.

I know that they can only go by what I tell them but I didn’t think for one second that they could possibly class £50 for taxi fare as a wage for business activity.

It’s so infuriating and I feel like I’ve had my life turned upside down. Angry with myself for not reading the policy properly.

Problem is how exactly do I prove I’ve never taken any money? It’s not possible to prove it.

It’s gonna be a massive uphill battle and I think I may aswell just accept that I have messed it all up for myself by not giving the right answer in the first place.

Another thing I could use to defend my irrational answers is that I have sufffered with various mental health issues for years and had just stopped taking my medication which can be verified by my psychiatrist. Could use the defence that I was that shook up after the break in and that added to the medication being stopped had made it so i didn’t know what I was saying.
Don’t know if that would make things worse or better?

All in all just feel so low about the whole thing.

Sat in my house with no TV, no games consoles and no DJ equipment and no money to get any of it back. Suicidal to be honest.

Begsey

https://www.samaritans.org/

There's always someone willing to listen, give them a call.


That aside, I had an insurance claim a couple of years ago. Items my insurer felt were for professional use weren't covered.

Aretnap

Here is an Ombudsman case which may give you an idea of how they would handle your complaint. Go here and search for DRN8391993

https://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/

The final question to consider therefore is if the stolen items should be considered as ‘contents held or used for business purposes’ which are excluded from the cover provided.

I recognise that Mr R’s band plays in various local venues on an irregular basis and that they advertise their availability online. I also recognise that they are sometimes given money to cover their expenses or a small fee for playing. In his conversation with L&G Mr R described his activity with the band as ‘just a hobby’ for which he was occasionally paid.

There isn’t any definition of ‘business purposes’ in the policy and I don’t think that Mr R’s activities constitute a business. For these reasons I don’t think that it is reasonable for L&G to use this exclusion to decline Mr and Mrs R’s claim.

The complaint was upheld. Based on that I would say it's unlikely that the Ombudsman would consider that a one-off payment of a taxi-fare and a drink qualified your DJing as a business, so you have a good chance of having your complaint upheld.

Another thing I could use to defend my irrational answers is that I have sufffered with various mental health issues for years and had just stopped taking my medication which can be verified by my psychiatrist. Could use the defence that I was that shook up after the break in and that added to the medication being stopped had made it so i didn’t know what I was saying.
Don’t know if that would make things worse or better?

If you did take the money on that one occasion, I would not recommend that you now claim you didn't. Apart from being fraudulent it would likely diminish your credibility - plus it would be unnecessary because given the case above I think it's unlikely that a one-off small payment would result in the Ombudsman agreeing that you were running a business with your equipment.

TylerDurden36

Thanks for the replies.
Now I have that case as a precedent I’m a lot more confident that my case will be heard and upheld.

The insurance company just also happens to be L&G aswell so that’s another plus point. If they paid out for that then they can’t not pay out for mine.
In that case they said they play the occasional and occasionally get paid.
I have only said to them that I got given £50 for a taxi fare home on NYE and that I have never been paid for any other gigs I have done. So if they granted someone who gets paid occasionally then surely they will do the same for having only for money once.

Can I go straight to the ombudsman or do I have to go through the complaints procedure or the insurer first?
Also do you think I should bring up the other case on the phone with them or just put it all in writing?

Thanks again.

Quentin

You were advised on the complaints procedure in #2 above!

You must use the insurers complaint process first!

Did you start the complaints process??

Rainbowgirl84

TylerDurden36 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
Now I have that case as a precedent I’m a lot more confident that my case will be heard and upheld.

The insurance company just also happens to be L&G aswell so that’s another plus point. If they paid out for that then they can’t not pay out for mine.
In that case they said they play the occasional and occasionally get paid.
I have only said to them that I got given £50 for a taxi fare home on NYE and that I have never been paid for any other gigs I have done. So if they granted someone who gets paid occasionally then surely they will do the same for having only for money once.

Can I go straight to the ombudsman or do I have to go through the complaints procedure or the insurer first?
Also do you think I should bring up the other case on the phone with them or just put it all in writing?

Thanks again.

Have you been paying royalties for the use of the music you play whilst DJing?