LOSS OF SUBSIDENCE INSURANCE COVER UPON RENEWAL

Annemos

Has anyone else been affected by this issue? Or had a similar case. 

I purchased my home insurance through SAGA. In 2018 I had a Subsidence Claim. Monitoring and investigations had to be done and negotiations with the Loss Adjuster and the Council. So the claim was still in process, when Saga changed its Insurance Panel. My original Insurance Provider was no longer on their panel. 

When I came to do my renewal in February 2020, SAGA told me that the Insurers on the new panel will not insure my property for Subsidence, because I am in the middle of claim and I am not repaired yet. SAGA said this was a business decision on their part to change their panel and their new panel will not insure me. Thus they have washed their hands of the issue. 

No other Insurance company will touch my property for the same reasons (in the middle of a claim.)

I have found several Ombudsman's cases that say the Insurance Industry wide agreement on Subsidence is that the original insurer must continue to cover you, because it is recognised that other insurance companies will be very reluctant to take on your property in the future. 
I am trying to get to the Original Insurance Company through an intermediary who arranged the original policy, but nothing has been resolved by them yet. 

Does anyone have any comments? Are there any other SAGA customers in this predicament? 

dunstonh

When I came to do my renewal in February 2020, SAGA told me that the Insurers on the new panel will not insure my property for Subsidence, because I am in the middle of claim and I am not repaired yet. SAGA said this was a business decision on their part to change their panel and their new panel will not insure me. Thus they have washed their hands of the issue.

That is not unreasonable and to be expected.

I am trying to get to the Original Insurance Company through an intermediary who arranged the original policy, but nothing has been resolved by them yet.

I believe SAGA are a broker, not a provider of insurance.    So, why can you not stay with your existing insurer?  Have they not issued their renewal notice?

Annemos

Thanks very much for helping with this. 
The policy was purchased through Saga as the seller. Arranged by an intermediary X. Then sent through UK General who have the underwriting powers on behalf of Great Lakes (who have the finance). Great Lakes do not deal with customers directly. UK General is not getting very far at the moment with Great Lakes (I am in contact with UK General.) 

My disappointment with the whole chain of them is that none of them bothered to take account of the fact that those of us mid-claim would just be dropped. We were left with so support whatsoever by any of them. 

I only found out by researching what should be happening. So to confirm....neither UK General or Great Lakes contacted us. 

Annemos

I have just received fantastic new this afternoon. Great Lakes is going to re-insure me, for which I am very grateful indeed. 
One of the team at UK General has done magnificent work on my behalf and I shall be eternally grateful to him. 
I was getting a bit desperate and this is wonderful news. 
I am happy to be able to provide a good news story in these difficult virus times. 
Thanks again dunstonh. Your term 'renewal notice' was very useful to me. 

Annemos

Dunstonh    if you are still monitoring this. 

You will never guess what has happened now! UK General has now been sold and so will not have any relationship with Great Lakes any more for my next renewal in 2021. So, next year I shall have the same problem again. Unbelievable! 
To summarise again.... A sold me the policy, it was arranged by B,   C was the underwriter on behalf of D the insurance company. 

So  the first time round A and B severed connections and I lost the subsidence cover mid-claim. (Got it back for 2020 renewal, after 5 months battle for it, by working with C and D)
But now C and D will be severing connections for the next renewal in 2021.

I am in the middle of trying to find out how to get D to still offer me cover for the renewal next year 2021. (D does not normally deal with the policy holders direct. It has always relied on C to deal with us.  But C will not be available! C is what is called an MGA) 

I am still working on the angle that the Insurance Industry wide agreement is that it is considered "good practice" by the Ombudsman for an insurance company to still offer ongoing subsidence cover, once a home owner has had subsidence. So D should still be covering me. 

These long chains of companies within the insurance industry, do seem to be having a very poor effect on us homeowners with Subsidence properties! The chain can break down at any moment... mine already has....twice in 2 years!! 

Sandtree

Great Lakes is a subsidiary of Munich Re, a reinsurance company. They don’t have the interest/capabilities to deal with direct consumers products (their insureds are normally insurance companies) but providing capacity to MGAs and other delegated authority mechanisms is somewhere between reinsurance and B2C insurance.

Youve the two avenues to investigate... will UK General’s new capacity provider take on the risk, they’re not obligated to but UK G can have agreed such things when negotiating and secondly reach out to Great Lakes to find out who else they’re providing capacity to.

once the claim is over and as it becomes more remote other insurers will start getting interested again... initially other specialists via brokers but later some more mainstream 

ps... where did you hear their carrier was changing? My fingers not on the pulse to these things but their site has no mention of substantial changes and has Great Lakes as the carrier 

Annemos

Thank you very much indeed for your advice, Sandtree. 
I am getting my information from this which I signed up to. And I have also had it confirmed by both parties.....
newsletters@insurancewire.co.uk
They send me alerts every day with just the headlines. You have to pay to get the full articles, which I have not needed. 
What us B2C insurance? 

Annemos

Oh I just looked on Google...Business to Consumer! 
As a consumer, I am feeling very battered at the moment! 

huckster

Why not write to them and ask for their assistance.  I suspect that they will have thought about how to deal with continuing risks,  

Head Office contact details

AddressPlantation Place 30 Fenchurch Street

EC3M 3AJ
UNITED KINGDOM

Telephone number442030037000

info-mrdigitalpartners@munichre.com

https://www.munichre.com. opens in a new window

It's important to check the firm's re

Annemos

Good morning Huckster. Thanks for your help, 
I am already in dealings with them. They sorted out the renewal for this year 2020 (When number 1 and 2 parted company.) That tool 5 months to resolve, 
But as you so rightly say, I am now trying to get some more reassurance for the next renewal, now that 3 and 4 have also parted company. 

So I am currently dealing with the Compliance section at Great Lakes  (copies to Munich Re) and have sent them an Ombudsman's case to review, that implies they should still endeavour to cover me at the 2021 renewal. 

I am awaiting a reply. Everything, including replies,  takes an age these days. 
I can only hope they do the right thing. 

You see, another issue really bothers me about all this. If the way these insurance chains are set up, was to mean that subsidence properties can just be dropped from one year to the next, then that implies that there is no incentive for the insurance companies to ever ensure that /the correct investigations and repairs are done at the outset, to ensure that repairs are lasting and effective. (That is a whole other story!) 





 

huckster

Perhaps this is an issue to raise with relevant interested parties.  Perhaps Martin Lewis or finance journalists would be interested in this subject matter.
I have always thought it was very important to use a Buildings Insurance underwriters that was likely to be around in say 10 or 20 years time, at the time of buying an Insurance policy.  It is more likely that say Aviva or Legal & General would be around in 10/20 years time, than some small underwriter.  The trouble with comparison websites, is people are buying based on price and also just know the name of the Insurance brokers/intermediary and not the actual underwriter.

It is important with Buildings Insurance, as claims such as subsidence, flooding or other high value risks, may make it difficult to Insure elsewhere.  As the Buildings Insurance is likely to be for the most valuable asset people own, it is pretty essential to always have it properly insured.