Home insurance cancelled - can I do anything?

hownowbrownhorse

Last year we had a loft conversion. Prior to it starting we told our insurers at the time, Aviva, about the works and they refused to cover it because it was out of the scope of what they were willing to cover (possibly because it was over £75k) and therefore they notified us that our policy was to be cancelled from the date that we told them the works were starting. We arranged alternative cover via a specialist insurer but now it's renewal time and I can't get any competitive quotes because I have to get rejected by the main insurers when I tick the "have you ever had insurance cancelled?" button.

However someone mentioned that this doesn't 'count' because they cancelled due to the risk not meeting their criteria rather than through fraud/misrepresentation/non-disclosure etc which is what the question is really asking.

I'm really annoyed that we are in the position of having to pay literally hundreds of pounds extra every year forever for specialist insurance because Aviva used the word 'cancelled' for something that seems fairly trivial! Any advice please? I've tried phoning a couple of the cheapest quotes (Tesco etc) and they seem just say that if the insurance was cancelled, there's nothing they can do about it.

dunstonh

Last year we had a loft conversion. Prior to it starting we told our insurers at the time, Aviva, about the works and they refused to cover it because it was out of the scope of what they were willing to cover (possibly because it was over £75k) and therefore they notified us that our policy was to be cancelled from the date that we told them the works were starting. We arranged alternative cover via a specialist insurer but now it's renewal time and I can't get any competitive quotes because I have to get rejected by the main insurers when I tick the "have you ever had insurance cancelled?" button.

That is not a declarable event under that question.

You had a change of risk which Aviva could not cover.  So, the policy ended at the point they could no longer offer it.

hownowbrownhorse

Oh that’s interesting to know.  But where does that leave me?  If I say I’ve never had insurance cancelled, surely that’s technically incorrect and could void any claims?  What you say makes perfect sense to anyone who can logically think about it, but the binary nature of the question with these computer generated forms make me unsure how to proceed.

prettyandfluffy

It is as @dunstonh said, we had an extension built and had to change insurer because of it.  Either go via a broker or phone your preferred insurer and explain that your previous insurer didn't cover homes with building work going on.

Aretnap

The question is badly worded I agree, but basically the insurer didn't cancel your policy because you had breached it's terms or lied about something - you cancelled it because it no longer met your needs. Presumably the conversation went something like this:

You: Hello, I'm thinking of getting a loft conversion, is that OK?
AVIVA: Sorry sir, if you do that we won't be able to cover you. 
You: Fair enough, I suppose I'd better cancel my policy please.

You see what happened there? Aviva didn't cancel the policy - you did. No different to you cancelling it because you had sold the house, or found a cheaper policy somewhere else.

Of course the conversation might not have gone EXACTLY like that - but that's still the gist of what happened. Ultimately if you REALLY wanted to keep your Aviva policy you always had the option of cancelling the building works, so at the end of the day it was your choice to cancel.

If you are still in doubt ask Aviva if they have recorded this as an insurer cancellation - I bet they haven't.

DullGreyGuy

hownowbrownhorse said:

Last year we had a loft conversion. Prior to it starting we told our insurers at the time, Aviva, about the works and they refused to cover it because it was out of the scope of what they were willing to cover (possibly because it was over £75k) and therefore they notified us that our policy was to be cancelled from the date that we told them the works were starting. We arranged alternative cover via a specialist insurer but now it's renewal time and I can't get any competitive quotes because I have to get rejected by the main insurers when I tick the "have you ever had insurance cancelled?" button.

However someone mentioned that this doesn't 'count' because they cancelled due to the risk not meeting their criteria rather than through fraud/misrepresentation/non-disclosure etc which is what the question is really asking.

I'm really annoyed that we are in the position of having to pay literally hundreds of pounds extra every year forever for specialist insurance because Aviva used the word 'cancelled' for something that seems fairly trivial! Any advice please? I've tried phoning a couple of the cheapest quotes (Tesco etc) and they seem just say that if the insurance was cancelled, there's nothing they can do about it.

You haven't had insurance cancelled. 

You were given a choice, keep the policy and dont do the conversion or do the conversion and cancel the policy. You chose to cancel the policy and do the conversion. If you sell your car and dont buy another one you have to cancel your insurance too but like this you dont declare it because its you cancelling the policy not them. 

If they had found out you had had the works done and cancelled it retrospectively for you having not informed them then that would have been them not you cancelling it and then that is declarable. 

hownowbrownhorse

Unfortunately the actual cancellation process was a lot less favourable for us.

We informed them that we were getting works done.  They asked for further info - the contract, start date etc.  They wrote to us informing us that they were cancelling our policy (using the word cancelling) with effect from whatever date we told them the work was starting because they couldn’t cover it.  I queried why and asking if they could hold off because it didn’t give us much time to get a new policy and we weren’t certain about the date, I was happy to delay for a short while because I thought a couple of weeks may be a bit tight to get new insurance with building work cover in place.  They told us it was already done and there was nothing they could do to reinstate it - by telling them of our intentions, we had set it in stone and it couldn’t be undone even if we decided not to go ahead with the renovations.  

DullGreyGuy

hownowbrownhorse said:

We informed them that we were getting works done.  They asked for further info - the contract, start date etc.  They wrote to us informing us that they were cancelling our policy 

How was this exchange done?

It would be highly unusual for you to be on the phone and they then write to you with a response. 

I would still maintain that you had an option not to do the works and therefore the policy would have continued. Maybe you didnt phone but were exchanging emails etc which is why the conversation was short cut because its painful to have such conversations over email. 

Ultimately if in doubt, speak to Aviva and ask them if you need to declare it as a cancellation. I'd be fairly confident that they'll say no however call centres are generally manned by people on little more than minimum wage so wouldnt be the first time they ever make a mistake. 

hownowbrownhorse

I called them initially and they gave me a list of the information that they needed me to email in, and gave me an email address.  My understanding is that this then went to the underwriters who responded in writing.  It was made very clear in subsequent conversations that the cancellation couldn’t be undone even if we cancelled the works.  I even put in a formal complaint about because it was quite distressing to have such a short notice and no way to delay or undo even if we didn’t go ahead (and I received a small amount of compensation).

Good suggestion to phone Aviva and see if they class it as a cancellation.  

DullGreyGuy

hownowbrownhorse said:

I called them initially and they gave me a list of the information that they needed me to email in, and gave me an email address.  My understanding is that this then went to the underwriters who responded in writing.  It was made very clear in subsequent conversations that the cancellation couldn’t be undone even if we cancelled the works.  I even put in a formal complaint about because it was quite distressing to have such a short notice and no way to delay or undo even if we didn’t go ahead (and I received a small amount of compensation).

Good suggestion to phone Aviva and see if they class it as a cancellation.  

I've worked in insurance for too long... "underwriter" is great term, if you understand where it comes from, but these days its used too broadly and depending on different contexts it can mean a person who does underwriting in the old sense of the word or an insurer or an intermediary that has delegated authority from an insurer etc. 

In Lloyds of London a broker approaches different syndicates trying to place a policy which has the risk details on a "slip". If the representative for the syndicate was willing to take on the risk they would write their details under the risk, hence they are an "underwriter" very literally. Most Lloyds risks are too big for one syndicate to take the whole thing so you get a Lead Underwriter who is the first to sign (or make their scratch to use the right terminology) to say they'll take 20% for £10,000 and all subsequent underwriters have to follow, so basically £500 per percent that they want. Anyway, boring normal people by now. 


Its not just if they class is as a cancellation, because the policy was cancelled but only fault/insurer cancellations have to be declared not customer cancelled policies. Explicitly ask them if you have to declare the cancellation to other insurers when buying a new policy. d

Aretnap

hownowbrownhorse said:

I called them initially and they gave me a list of the information that they needed me to email in, and gave me an email address.  My understanding is that this then went to the underwriters who responded in writing.  It was made very clear in subsequent conversations that the cancellation couldn’t be undone even if we cancelled the works.  I even put in a formal complaint about because it was quite distressing to have such a short notice and no way to delay or undo even if we didn’t go ahead (and I received a small amount of compensation).

Good suggestion to phone Aviva and see if they class it as a cancellation.  

I would suggest that if you had cancelled the works and they had insisted on cancelling the policy anyway you would have had very strong grounds for complaint - they do not get to cancel your policy because you thought about getting building works done but decided not to.

Not that you put it to the test but the principle stands - ultimately it was your choice to cancel the policy or not, or it would have been had you been dealing with people with a clue.