Beyond Economical Repair (B.E.R) - Boilers

Ningaloo

Does anyone know where Insurance companies get hold of historical data used in making this calculation?

My claim has been declined stating the boiler is B.E.R.  Company state they used an Industry-standard calculation. 

They are refusing to tell me how they have calculated this.  Any help on how I can check this out is appreciated. 

Sandtree

Firstly, if parts are no longer available almost certainly makes it BER

If it is repairable then its likely to consider a number of factors like the policy limit, replacement value etc. 

I'm not aware of any set industry norms but warranty type issues arent my area. It may be worth you going to Ombudsman decisions (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) and searching for "beyond economical repair" and a big warranty type insurer like Domestic & General Insurance. It should identify some cases of disputes if an appliance is BER and how the ombudsman has deemed it fair to determine this.

Be aware may of these however are "service plans" and not insurance, if yours isnt insurance then FOS has no powers and your routes for resolution are much more limited.

Ningaloo

Thanks - All parts are still available in most stores nationwide (manufacturer confirmed this)..
But its a Service Agreement.
Financial Ombudsman look at certain service agreements. But not sure if mine is one of them. 

Sandtree

Ningaloo said:

Thanks - All parts are still available in most stores nationwide (manufacturer confirmed this)..
But its a Service Agreement.
Financial Ombudsman look at certain service agreements. But not sure if mine is one of them. 

FOS covers all insurance, the reality is that many companies spend a lot of time/money to ensure that their products arent classified as insurance but some are (D&G do both insurance and non-insurance). Beyond avoiding FOS jurisdiction its mainly about avoiding having to account and capitalise like an insurer and regulations like Solvency II.

Ningaloo

I think this Company is trying its utmost to avoid having to payout. Deeming my boiler to be Beyond Economical (BER) repair as they say it would cost £480 to repair but the manufacturer fixed it for £246. The higher figure pushes it BER but funnily enough, the manufacturer can do it for the lower amount, which would have meant my policy can payout. Strange that.

Incidentally, the Company was happy to arrange for the Manufacturer to fix it and even called them for me. 

I do think something is seriously wrong here in my opinion. 

Sandtree

£246 isnt some fixed price deal? For white goods some manufacturers do offer a set price repair (though there is a BER risk with them too) which gives customers certainty and the spread of actual costs (with much cheaper parts for them) means they dont lose out either.

If you say they are an insurance company then you can complain and escalate to the Financial Ombudsman if you are unhappy with their response.