worried sick , cracks in house

EssexHebridean

This was on the telephone I take it? Did you make a note of the date and time you called (you can probably find it from a phone call or if not?) and the name of the person you spoke with? And was there by any chance a message at the beginning of the call telling you that calls are recorded? 

Annemos

Good evening. 

Try not to worry too much until they have done their reports. It is great news that they are doing all the investigations. 

Cracks are always worrying but it takes a lot for a building to suffer really bad and sudden damage. (Sinkholes!) 

Subsidence Claims can take quite a while, while they investigate. So we do notice cracking getting slightly worse in a Claim. They have to find the correct Cause and decide how to remove it. Then possibly do ongoing monitoring, to see if movement has stopped. If they have to deal with Councils over Trees, that can take ages, too. 

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Re the new Insurer XXX. You say the previous Insurer has stopped doing Insurance and so they have put you on to this new Insurer.   (Was your old Insurer by any chance RSA or Morethan? They are stopping providing policies. They are pointing people to Admiral.)

The Previous Insurer would not normally be allowed to drop you, as you are now in the middle of a claim with them for Subsidence. They would have to provide you with a new Policy. But, if they have permanently stopped providing Home Insurance, then they have to make sure you have ongoing cover with someone else. 

(The Financial Ombudsman would usually support you on that.)

What slightly worries me is that you are saying the New Insurer has said that you do not have a Claim. But is sounds to me that you DO have a Claim ongoing with the Previous Insurer and they are currently investigating it. Did that advisor not fully understand? 

Here is what I would be inclined to do to cover yourself..... send an e-mail to both of them... (addressed to both of them). It will be Customer Services for XXX and Customer Services for the Old Insurer. (Also copy the mail in to the Engineer and Claims Handler, so both sets of Customer Services can see who to speak to if necessary.)

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Entitle the e-mail:  "Regarding my Claim for Possible Subsidence with "Name of Old Insurer", submitted on DATE, Claim Number- ....." 

Thank "Old Insurer" for their Engineer's visit on DATE and tell them you await the outcome of their investigations of the cause of the Cracking.

Also say.... I understand that "Old Insurer" is not able to provide me with a new Policy this year when it is due to expire on DATE.

However I have been referred by "Old Insurer" to XXX for a new Policy, so that my home is covered by Insurance during the ongoing investigations by "Old Insurer".  XXX has issued me with a new Policy Number ZZZZ commencing on DATE. 


With this e-mail I am informing both "Old Insurer" and XXX of my current understanding. 

Please can you both reply with confirmation that my understanding is correct. 

======================


Now you have an ongoing claim, it can be useful to confirm your understanding, after things happen with the Claims Handling, too, with e-mails. Also save all e-mails immediately you receive them. 

78daniel

thank you very much EssexHebridean and Annemos, i really appreciate your help and advice, you do put my mind at ease.
i did note date, time and name of person i spoke to at the new insurers (Admiral)  who sent me renewal papers and yes  previously was Morethan.

I will follow your advice regarding sending emails.


should i mention the telephone conversation i had with the advisor where i explained the current situation and his response, i did ask him if the calls were recorded and he replied they were.

Annemos

Yes absolutely add that too. And attach some documentation they sent for the new policy. Not the whole lot, but the cover document they send you when opening up a new policy. (Cover dates, price, policy number.)


It is not that I think your claim may encounter any problems. But I discovered with mine, it is best to record everything in writing, so that if something does go awry, you have all the evidence to present to the Financial Ombudsman. It is absolutely invaluable if ever needed. 

I had to set up folders on my Computer and label everything in date order and what it was.

My advice is to be really rigorous on this. The Insurance Companies handle Insurance Claims as a "business project" and so must we as the Homeowner. 

Annemos

And another thing to add. (You are bringing it all back to me!)  

I used to keep a Wordpad document and I would continually update it with    Time, Date and What was said/discussed and Who said it. (Phone calls, meetings.) 

In the middle of a claim with lots of things going on, it is easy to forget just what happened and when, if you haven't done this.

twopenny

I'm another who keeps a folder (for all utilities etc) though mines paper.

I keep a page in front of all the documents with every call, date time and who I spoke to (even if it isn't a real name) it's very useful and means you can free your mind of worrying about that.

It's surprising just how effective it is to say to an operative - 'I rang on *th at *am and spoke to ******. You record the calls so I'm sure you can verify that '

78daniel

just as i was about to send off emails , i received a call from Admiral and was told they would not be able to offer me a policy, so i haven't sent emails as suggested above.
i am totally devastated as only a week left on current one and dont think i will be able to get policy from anywhere else.

MysteryMe

You need to speak to an insurance broker, they will have dealt with this numerous times. 

Annemos

Right hold on one minute. 

I am going to send you some cases..... you need to immediately go back to RSA. 

Point out to them that RSA is a member of the Association of British Insurers. It therefore has a duty to continue providing ongoing Insurance cover for you while your Subsidence Claim is ongoing. If they cannot do it themselves, then they have to find someone who will. 

When you read these cases, you will see that the Ombudsman expects RSA to put something in place for you, with another Insurer if necessary. 

I believe RSA might actually be able to continue your cover, while the claim is ongoing. 

Back with you in a few minutes with the cases.  

Insurance Brokers will also have difficulty getting a policy for you in the middle of a Subsidence Claim. That's why the Ombudsman expects RSA to sort you out. (You can read it in these cases.) 

If the worse comes to the worse, you may have to do what I did. Take a policy without Subsidence Cover and then issue a Complaint with RSA. 

Annemos

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-4190935.pdf

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN3300987.pdf

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN7250903.pdf


My feeling is you are not going to be the only one in this situation with RSA. 

They should have put something in place.

(This is not for your Loss Adjuster or Engineer. They just handle the claims.)

This is for RSA Customer Services ultimately, but I suppose you will have to start by contacting Morethan first. Impress on them how urgent this is. They need to help you get a new policy in place. 


(Had another thought.......   See my private mail to you. I have a contact at RSA who dealt with a Complaint I had. She is in the Customer Relations Team.)