No Insurance Pay-Out After Burglary Question

beefound

Hi. I want to read the experiences of homeowners who suffered no insurance pay-out after a burglary because of a faulty door or window lock? Anyone with a story to tell?

marcia_

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6662034/no-insurance-pay-out-after-burglary-question

how about you tell us your story and you will get advice on your situation

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6662034/no-insurance-pay-out-after-burglary-question

On most policies it wouldnt be grounds for decline directly however indirectly it may be as more policies now require evidence of forced or violent entry and if they can open the door/window because the lock isnt working without causing damage then it would be declined because of the lack of evidence not in itself because of the broken lock.

Some will endorse policies where valuables are getting higher than they typically like to insure requiring all windows and doors be locked if the theft occurs whilst the property is unoccupied. Again the fact the lock is broken isnt direct the issue but the fact it wasnt locked is, you'd have the same problem if you hadn't locked as if you couldn't lock it.

Finally if you have declared all windows and/or doors have locks and they dont then clearly this is potentially grounds for voiding the policy as fraud but it will come down as to why you said they were lockable when they weren't and if the insurer would have offered cover had you correctly declared the answer as "no"

You can search the ombudsman's decision online which is probably a better source as you will know that these are true accounts whereas anyone can post here and make up a story if they think it would entertaining. A quick search shows the first few all fall into the above scenarios