Lost jewellery claim

LarryR

About a year ago we were doing some work on our house which meant we needed to move out for 3 months. We packed everything up, leaving the house bare so the builders could get on with the job, whilst we lived in a rental. We took everything with us. When the work was complete, we moved back in and unpacked a lot of the boxes, but not all. We placed the unpacked boxes in the garage and the loft. My wife has some jewellery - an engagement ring and an eternity ring - which she only wears on special occasions, which she went to put on the other week. We expected them to be in a box in the loft, except they weren't. We looked everywhere, in all the boxes, but, upsettingly, couldn't find them.

I realise that no-one here will have intimate knowledge of my policy, nor be able to advise if the claim would be successful, based on this information, but wondered if anyone had had a similar situation, or any thoughts on how to approach this? Does the fact that potentially these rings went missing a year ago impact the claim? Will the insurance company laugh at me and just say I should have looked for these items a year ago, and now they're not covered?! It's a big insurance company, I have their highest level of cover, and I have been with them for the last 5 years with no claims (in case it makes a difference to your thinking).

Any thoughts or advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks
L

Sandtree

What are the values of the items?
Are the items declared on the policy? What is the declared item threshold?
Do you have Personal Possessions cover?
What did you do with your insurance whilst out the premises?

The problem is that most home insurance is written on a "insured perils" basis and therefore you need to be able to demonstrate that a theft or fire or such has happened that resulted in the loss. PP cover more often is on an all risks basis and that has more hope but thats only if you have it and can convince them the loss happened out the home.

LarryR

Thanks for the reply, sandtree. The items combined are about £10k, they're listed separately on the policy as they're high value. I do have personal possessions cover, it's whether it covers me for this kind of loss or not that I'm unsure of.
I told my insurance company that I had moved out at the time and they transferred the policy to the temporary address while we were there, and then back again when we returned. 

Sandtree

PP cover does normally include accidental loss however its a question of if your PP cover only covers for items outside of your property or also covers them when they are inside the property. Most insurers dont want to cover accidental loss inside the property as too often items do appear again later and insureds are poor at admitting this to the insurer.

You ultimately need to read your policybook but your main challenge is going to be the long period and the fact you dont know what happened to them. 

LarryR

I think I'm going to speak to an insurance loss assessor about this and get their advice on how best to proceed (or whether it's even worth trying to claim?).

Do you know if there is a directory of trusted loss assessors I could go to? I imagine, as with all businesses, there are good people and there are not so good out there.

Thanks

Smithcom

There should really be no need to appoint a Loss Assessor, at fairly significant expense, although you certainly can if you wish to.

The fact that you have been with the current insurer for 5 years should help, as avoids issues re loss date.

The starting place is to find out if your policy includes All Risks/Personal Possessions cover.  From your comments, it sounds like this is probably included, but please check. 

TELLIT01

You need to speak to your insurer in the first instance.  No point speaking to a loss adjuster if the insurer won't pay out anyway.

Sandtree

TELLIT01 said:

You need to speak to your insurer in the first instance.  No point speaking to a loss adjuster if the insurer won't pay out anyway.

Other than a loss adjuster may be better at arguing that the event should be covered and so increase the chances of a pay out. Some would argue its easier to go in with the best story first than give it a go yourself and then get someone else in to argue against the decline after. Not personally advocating engaging a professional at this stage but I can see an argument for it. 


As to how to find a good one? Referrals probably. You can look for a qualified one by checking their qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjustors but that doesnt mean you'll get on with them etc which can be important as well as their qualifications.

lisyloo

Would an insurer consider it reasonable to not make any special arrangements for £10k worth of jewellery?
when I carry jewellery on holidays, I take it separately in hand luggage (never stays in the car always with me even if go to the loo at services) and check it on arrival.
there may be something missing from the detail, but it sounds as though it was just packed with the other goods and not checked on arrival.
so are insurers ok with that? Or would they expect it to be reasonable to do more for valuables? Or does it depend on which insurer you have?