Contents Insurance - Accidental damage question

Rye93_2

I was hoping someone could help me with this question about claiming on contents insurance.

I play and own a few guitars and recently, an accident happened which resulted in one of them being broken beyond repair. Basically, due to a fall, the neck has been snapped and even with a skilled craftsman, this guitar will never play again.

This was a gift from my dad many years ago and I'm gutted about it being beyond repair due to the sentimental value alone.

I currently pay for contents insurance with Lemonade insurance and pay extra per month for accidental damage. I have read through the T's&C's of the policy and it seems like this should be covered.

The only thing is, when I have went through the app the submit a claim, they ask for pictures of the damage and receipt's of purchase.

As this was a gift, I have no way of providing a receipt or even a bank statement from my dad to show the purchase as this was many years ago and the last thing I thought of doing since the accident was taking a picture of the damage as I was heartbroken to even comprehend that it was broken, nevermind getting my phone out to photograph it.

I have plenty of pictures of me playing the guitar and even photo's of it in the backround while other pictures have been taken.

I suppose my question is, would this be something that could be submitted and accepted if I pursue to make a contents insurance claim? 

I've never had to do this with them before and have been paying them monthly for over 3 years now. I undersntad my monthly premium would increase if it was successful, but I'm unsure on how this all works and if it would based on the circumstances.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

user1977

You can explain about the lack of receipt. Their website even says that "a photo of the item in your possession" may be accepted as evidence that you owned it.

Why can't you now take a photo of the damage?

elsien

Pictures of you playing it don’t prove anything – you could have sold it, for example. 

MyRealNameToo

Rye93_2 said:

I was hoping someone could help me with this question about claiming on contents insurance.

I play and own a few guitars and recently, an accident happened which resulted in one of them being broken beyond repair. Basically, due to a fall, the neck has been snapped and even with a skilled craftsman, this guitar will never play again.

This was a gift from my dad many years ago and I'm gutted about it being beyond repair due to the sentimental value alone.

I currently pay for contents insurance with Lemonade insurance and pay extra per month for accidental damage. I have read through the T's&C's of the policy and it seems like this should be covered.

The only thing is, when I have went through the app the submit a claim, they ask for pictures of the damage and receipt's of purchase.

As this was a gift, I have no way of providing a receipt or even a bank statement from my dad to show the purchase as this was many years ago and the last thing I thought of doing since the accident was taking a picture of the damage as I was heartbroken to even comprehend that it was broken, nevermind getting my phone out to photograph it.

I have plenty of pictures of me playing the guitar and even photo's of it in the backround while other pictures have been taken.

I suppose my question is, would this be something that could be submitted and accepted if I pursue to make a contents insurance claim? 

I've never had to do this with them before and have been paying them monthly for over 3 years now. I undersntad my monthly premium would increase if it was successful, but I'm unsure on how this all works and if it would based on the circumstances.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Presumably you still have the broken guitar though?

Insurers work on a balance of probabilities and consider a wide range of factors, yes a receipt it nice to have but its generally more important in theft claims where the insurer cannot inspect the damaged item to confirm its identity. They will build up a picture... was this a 2000s Squire guitar worth a few hundred or one of 1960s Gibsons worth £30k? Is you content worth £10,000 plus a £30k guitar or is your content worth £500,000 and you have a series of high end guitars? A parter in a law firm or a self employed odd jobs man? Have you been insured for 3 days or 3 years? 

Pictures whilst not conclusive on their own help tell the story, particularly if there is something distinctive about the guitar like stickers or damage/wear 

Ultimately someone could concoct an elaborate hoax, buy a damaged guitar that looks just like their 1960s Gibson that they had to sell a few years ago to make ends meet, borrow a receipt from a friend that used to own an almost identical guitar etc and some will get away with it, insurers are fairly good at looking into these things though and most give themselves away. 

Rye93_2

Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the delay on here.

I'll be honest, when it broke, I just didn't think to take a picture of the damage and didn't even think of my insurance. I was just gutted that it was broke since it was a gift and very sentimental to me.

I took a moment to calm myself, and then I suppose out of frustration, I discarded of what was remaining as any repairs that could have been done would have been double what the guitar was worth. Also, with split wood fragements laying around, I didn't want to end up stepping on them and causing injury.

I recently had a reply back asking for a little more info about what happend, the make/model and etc.

The last thing I would do is try to con my insursnce provider, but I know and understand they have to be vigilent and check everything that comes under there terms and conditions. If they can't provide cover, I understand. I have a collection of guitars, but this one was something special to me since it was a gift from my dad. He bought it for me when I was going through a really bad patch in my life, struggling very bad money wise and was almost homeless, but he knew it was something I would cherish for life. Just heart broken that I've broken it. I always promised that no mayter what happens, it would never be sold no matter how desperate I was and I always kept that promise. It wasn't a high end guitar, an Epiphone Texan for anyone who may play or know about guitars. 

Sorry, I'll stop giving you a life story now. Thank you for your replies. We'll see what happens.

TELLIT01

All you can do is contact the insurer and ask if it is possible to claim in your situation.

CliveOfIndia

TELLIT01 said:

All you can do is contact the insurer and ask if it is possible to claim in your situation.

OP, from what you've said I think this is your best approach.  But it's understandable if the insurance company are a little sceptical about the claim - not intending to "have a go" at you, but looking at it purely objectively and without any emotion.

Rye93_2 said:

I discarded of what was remaining

Again, being coldly objective, it's possible to see how this may be interpreted - or misinterpreted.  Why would you "dispose of the evidence", as it were, if you were planning to make an insurance claim?

Again, that's not meant as a personal insult - just trying to illustrate how it may look from a purely objective point of view.

But yes, ultimately you need to get on the phone to them (sorry, old-school dinosaur here!) and see what options are available.