Quick home insurance question...

hiphopopotamus

I'm renewing my home insurance, I told the insurer in the online chat that there had been signs of cracking in the walls since the last renewal. They refused to renew.

I'm now looking elsewhere and am a little confused about the terminology. Should I answer yes to this question?

Has an insurer ever declined, cancelled, voided or accepted a policy on special terms?

Woodstok2000

Possibly, however refusing to give you a quote is not the same as declining a policy, but you'd need to ask them to be certain.

Declining cover generally means they've got policies you could use, but theyre not going to provide them for some reason (risk, claims history etc). Youd need to declare that.

It could also be that you just don't fit their underwriting criteria any more and so they don't have any policies you could take out - that doesn't need to be declared.

eddddy

hiphopopotamus said

I told the insurer in the online chat that there had been signs of cracking in the walls since the last renewal. They refused to renew.

I suspect that you'll have problems finding any insurer who will quote, when you tell them that there has been new cracking in the last year.

Maybe the best plan is to get a structural engineer to look at the cracking, and give an opinion on whether it's subsidence or something else.

WillowLeaf said

Get a claim in quick for the signs of cracking.

I would get a structural engineer to look at the cracking first, to see if it is subsidence.

If it's not subsidence, it's not good to have a "rejected subsidence claim" in your claims history.

It might result in increased future premiums, and it might make other insurers nervous about offering you insurance, and it might make future buyers nervious.

So only contact the insurer if the Structural Engineer believes it's subsidence.

Albermarle

OP- If you describe the problem in more detail, and post some photos, you may get some good feedback as to what the problem might be .

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6661323/quick-home-insurance-question

No, if thats the question you are being asked then the decline to quote doesnt need to be declared. Be careful however as some are asking a slightly different question these days asking if any insurer has ever refused to offer you a renewal quote. If you see that new varient of question you would have to say yes.

hiphopopotamus

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice so far.

To be clear, I had a qualified structural engineer out in the autumn for a survey and they confirmed it was due to the draught and cosmetic not structural.

Will try to confirm with the insurer whether they are declining to quote or declining to cover.