Home insurance claim due to a burglary

Kieran_Bull

Hello and thanks for reading.

This is my first post so please bear with me but I am desperately seeking some advice.

My house was recently burgled and the keys to my company car were taken, along with a watch and my wife’s handbag which contained her purse, car & house keys and a bag full of make-up.

We have followed the necessary steps; contacted the police and home insurance provider, bank cards reported as stolen, locks changed for the house and for my wife’s car etc.

Here is where my problem lies. Whilst we have proof of ownership for the handbag and watch, my wife does not have pictures or receipts for the make-up (estimate value £450) that she has acquired over a long period of time, and our home insurance provider, Policy Expert, state that they need proof to be able to progress our claim. I understand that due to fraud, insurance companies need proof of ownership to progress claims but who can honestly say that they would keep receipts for each lip sticks, foundation or mascara that they buy?!

Also, our child’s car seat (estimate value £80) was in my company vehicle. Our home insurance say that it is not covered under the building and contents, and my works’ insurance state that as it was not for business use, I cannot claim on their insurance either.

Either way, we are potentially going to be massively out-of-pocket as a result of being burgled. Has anyone had any similar experiences and be able to offer advice, or is there any way I can progress my claim without having to provide pictures, receipts or bank statements for the make-up, and would the car seat be covered under my building & contents policy?

Thanks in advance.

Quentin

Whenever you are not happy with your insurance company the route to go down is a complaint in line with their complaints procedure

Then if you are not happy with the reply or they ignore you for 8 weeks you can escalate to the FOS for their adjudication at no cost to you

tempus_fugit

Re the items without receipts, just tell them what was in the bag and that you don't have pictures or receipts. They might want chapter and verse about them though and they will be wary of anything that sounds out of the ordinary without proof, but they should at least allow something for these items unless they just flatly refuse to cover them without proof. You won't know until you ask.

Re the car seat, check your policy cover to see what it says about items outside the house and if you have cover for this, and even if you do it may not cover car seats. Normally this should be covered under your own motor insurance but as it was in the company car then this probably wouldn't apply in this case.

Ganga

£450 seems a lot for make-up,the insurance company will want a list of everything plus will make a deduction for any that was used.

lisyloo

Are there any bank or credit card statements for the makeup?
£450 is out of the ordinary so yes they would want some proof for that.
If she bought anything online does she have any order history?

I do keep till receipts for expensive items (cameras, furniture, watches, jewellery) but I would not think of keeping receipts for makeup.

Does your wife have other makeup of the same high value that was not stolen?
Sometimes insurance companies visit and take a look.
Pictures of what was not stolen may help build a case. I wouldn’t imagine it would be enough on its own, but coupled with bank statements it might help.

So if she has a box of 8 Chanel lipsticks with one missing that might help.

Skibunny40

Many high end cosmetic firms keep contact details and records of what clients have previously purchased - if your wife bought them from a store, it might be worth asking for a copy of those records?