Insurance Claim being disputed following fire

DempsterConfused

We had a fire May 2023. My wife and children were moved to an alternative house whilst the house was remediated.
My wife and I are named on the policy.
We became estranged following the fire and are now going through an amicable divorce.

The insurance company contacted my wife and omitted me from all  proceedings.
When i finally had to get involved (as i was renewing my policy), they seemed very, very nervous about having not shared anything previously with me including payments made directly to my wife.

They offered me compensation (small amount) but suggested if i was unhappy, then to go to the Financial Ombudsmen.

I have taken the second choice, but wondered if they had indeed breached a consumer law?
They are very nervous and I would be keen to understand what violation they had actually committed.

Thanks

caprikid1

 I guess the first question is what loss have you suffered due to their actions.

DullGreyGuy

DempsterConfused said:

We had a fire May 2023. My wife and children were moved to an alternative house whilst the house was remediated.
My wife and I are named on the policy.
We became estranged following the fire and are now going through an amicable divorce.

The insurance company contacted my wife and omitted me from all  proceedings.
When i finally had to get involved (as i was renewing my policy), they seemed very, very nervous about having not shared anything previously with me including payments made directly to my wife.

They offered me compensation (small amount) but suggested if i was unhappy, then to go to the Financial Ombudsmen.

I have taken the second choice, but wondered if they had indeed breached a consumer law?
They are very nervous and I would be keen to understand what violation they had actually committed.

What are your financial losses for having not been informed?
What is your issue with how they have proceeded or are you just being opportunistic? 

Insurers arent obliged to keep all policyholders informed of the matters, assuming you are joint policyholders. Most policyholders have no interest in the claim beyond their personal losses and insurers can carry on many months or years after with the policyholder blissfully unaware as they got their bit sorted.

Financial services are not covered by the vast majority of consumer law, there are separate rules and regulations around insurance, banking etc, some are similar to general consumer law (eg cooling off for distance contracts) but others are very different. 

Assuming you are joint policyholders then there doesn't sound to be anything wrong with what they have done. An agent being nervous could easily be just because they passed training last week and they felt intimidated by you... I dont recall anyone ever describing me as being nervous, maybe frustrated when a colleague has messed up massively but to err is human and a company is better judged on how they fix a mess-up than if they make any. 

If you want the company to be charged the £650 ombudsman fee go ahead, at the end of the day we all just pay for it by higher premiums anyway.

sheramber

There is no guarantee the  FO will award you any more than the company have.