Gadget Insurance Denied

Melberryy

Hi,

Three weeks ago my phone got stolen whilst I was out. I had insurance with a third party company, but informed the provider (EE) that it has been stolen within minutes to get it blocked. Also informed police and got crime report. Called insurance morning after and claimed on it, they said all was fine.

Sent insurance proof of purchase, crime number, proof of blocking, proof of contract and filled in the necessary forms. This was two and a half week ago. To make the claim I had to pay £50, which was my excess.

Just had the email through ( after chasing for about a week and a half, being told the claim had all the documents and I'd get the phone before Christmas) to say my claims been denied. They're reasoning is that when I brought the insurance I didn't email them a picture of rhe IMEI number on the phone as requested (don't the bottom of an email) so the insurance isn't valid.

I have many questions, including;
- is this legal?
- why was it okay for them to take the £50 off me if they knew I hadn't validated
- surely proof of purchase proves I had the phone in good condition?

Any help appreciated, this is a massive blow just before xmas as I'd just joined a two year contract!

Thanks

Browntoa

It's denied because you failed to adhere to the requirements .

Proof you have is for A phone , without the IMEI you cannot prove it was for THE phone

dacouch

Does any of the other "Paperwork" you completed at the time of purchasing the cover mention the requirement for the IMEI?

Did they chase you for it or was it just the one email

Melberryy

There was one email. No follow up and they allowed me to pay an excess.

Did some digging and found this in ther T&Cs, which outlines that if the proof was not received the policy should be cancelled/refunded.

Proof of Ownership: A document to provide proof that the Gadget You are claiming for is owned by You. Such evidence may include a copy of the receipt or a gift receipt. You must provide the Administrator with evidence of ownership and the relevant IMEI or Serial Number as well as an image of the device with the power on within 7 days of the Start Date on the policy. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of the policy and the return of the premium to You.

chrisw

You should get the £50 excess back and possibly some premiums if the policy was voided, although an admin charge might be applied which could swallow up any refund.

You might be better cancelling the policy yourself, as if they do it, you might have to declare it forever on any other insurance you might have such as house or car insurance.

Melberryy

But it says in their Terms and Conditions if the Insurance was voided then they would refund and cancel the policy.

As this didn't happen it's implied the policy was still valid and wasn't cancelled? Surely they couldn't have accepted excess fee if there was no policy to link it to...

chrisw

Yes, I agree with you. They can't have it both ways. It's either void and you get the excess back you've paid and a refund on the inurance premium or its valid and they should pay out for the claim.

You'll have to phone them and find out exactly what's going on.