Wedding Insurance denied - any help wellcome!

Driver23

Hi there, 
We have postponed our wedding to 2021 and had to change venues as our old venue had no availability. Because of this, we have lost our deposit on this and a bunch of other services as they are unable to move to the new date (around £2,000 in total).
So naturally, I called up our wedding insurance provider (Debenhams) with a certain amount of confidence as the policy specifically covers us in the even of the spread of infectious diseases and illnesses. 
But when I called I got told flatly that we're not covered as it is an act of parliament that has forced businesses to close and that we're not covered for. I explained that we're covered for infectious diseases and illness and, regardless of the directive of the government this is the actual reason for needing to claim. They said that they will escalate it to 'Head Office' but this just resulted in an FAQ being sent to us which basically said we're not covered for anything. Although we can move it to our new date if we just pay them extra for the pleasure!! 
Is this right? surely they can't pick one part of their terms to say we're not eligible but completely ignore another part that that says we are? Should I be going to the Ombudsman about this? I feel like I've been conned out of £60 for insurance that doesn't do what it's supposed to do. 
Any help greatly appreciated - £2k is a lot of money  

davidmcn

Can we see the terms?

steampowered

Did your old venue cancel the wedding date - when was it? If so, the old venue must refund your deposit.

Driver23

policy wording 

Driver23

@steampowered. We worked with our old venue on what to do and they were all set to move us to next year for free until they couldn't do the dates we asked for in 2021. As soon as we mentioned that we might have to look for another venue they tried to charge us 75% of the total cost - a lot of negotiating later and they have agreed not to charge us but will be retaining the deposit. Our photographer, who also said postponement sounds like the sensible option, can not do the new date either and is retaining his deposit and then we've lost the deposit on the registrar too.

davidmcn

Seems pretty clear it's excluded - from the Part 1 exclusions:

"WHAT YOU ARE NOT COVERED FOR:

We will not pay for the following in connection with claims made under this section:

4) Any claim arising directly or indirectly from:

...b) government regulation or act"

The "outbreak of infectious disease" etc cover would be for situations where there isn't a government order e.g. something specific to the venue.

Driver23

But what if they contradict each other - Ie the spread of infectious diseases causes a government intervention - My question was more how can you support one clause but ignore another. Sorry didn't mean to be unclear.

davidmcn

Driver23 said:

But what if they contradict each other - Ie the spread of infectious diseases causes a government intervention - My question was more how can you support one clause but ignore another. Sorry didn't mean to be unclear.

The exclusions overrule the insured risks. Otherwise they wouldn't make any sense - you don't need to exclude something if it wouldn't have fallen under an insured risk in the first place.

steampowered

Driver23 said:

@steampowered. We worked with our old venue on what to do and they were all set to move us to next year for free until they couldn't do the dates we asked for in 2021. As soon as we mentioned that we might have to look for another venue they tried to charge us 75% of the total cost - a lot of negotiating later and they have agreed not to charge us but will be retaining the deposit. Our photographer, who also said postponement sounds like the sensible option, can not do the new date either and is retaining his deposit and then we've lost the deposit on the registrar too.

Unfortunately, a lot of wedding venues are being a bit unscrupulous. The CMA are specifically investigating wedding venues on this: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-cma-to-investigate-cancellation-policy-concerns.

If a service provider can't provide a service you've paid for, they have to refund you. That's basic consumer law, and is very clear by the CMA's statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds). It is entirely your choice whether or not to accept alternative dates that might be offered - you are entitled to a refund if you wish. The same applies to the photographer and registrar.

Unfortunately, knowing what you are legally entitled to, and getting a cash strapped venue to follow the law, are two different things.

You could consider a "letter before action" seeking full return of the deposit, else you will bring a court claim to recover it, and report the wedding venue to the CMA (https://www.coronavirus-business-complaint.service.gov.uk/).

As davidmcn points out it's unlikely your insurance will cover this - most insurers aren't covering Covid-19 related claims. So you might have to get into a scrap with the wedding venue.

DoaM

Was there a "government regulation or act" that forced the businesses to close? Which one was it that their saying allows them to invoke this exclusion? (They can't just say it - they need to prove their assertion).

You could always get a deadlock letter from the insurer and then raise a claim/complaint with the relevant insurance ombudsman.

Driver23

Darn - that's a lot of money to lose. OK @steampowered & @davidmcn Thank you so much for your time on this. I really do appreciate it