That's really useful to know, thank you.

I renewed my contents insurance just before going BR so didn't need to disclose it. Hoping the next renewal goes through without a hitch as that will be just before AD, if I don't get ED first.

I go through a broker though so should be able to negotiate something and use continued ability to make monthly payments throughout BR year as leverage.

Have you told them now that you are BR though. If not you may have an issue there if you need to claim on the insurance as they may refuse to pay out as you did not disclose your bankruptcy.

Checked the small print and it doesn't mention BR, only 'material changes' and as they don't specify what constitutes material changes I don't know that means BR...

If I have to claim I'll deal with it at the time. At the end of the day it's only material possession and nothing I can't replace via Freecycle.

BR is classed as a material change by some insurers, it is their way of getting out of paying anything if they can. OP the Coop are very good for house insurance for BR people.

Please please tell them and ask if it's a problem. Material changes usually encompasses bankruptcy (trust me from a long running thread I have about insurance for bankrupts, I have a lot of experience on this specific topic).

Hopefully your insurers won't be bothered as it's a current claim and they will say that's fine. They may increase your premiums but you can negotiate with them if they do. Contents insurance covers a lot more than your possessions however, including liability cover if someone else puts a claim in against you for some reason. Then if your insurer says tough, you end up at court with a massive bill to pay that you have to do something about as you'll have incurred it after going bankrupt.

Think of the bright side, they may say all is fine. You really don't want it to come to someone saying they're taking you to court and you'll be fighting your corner alone for the sake of one phone call though.

Appreciate that CitySlicker, and also all the hard work you are putting into changing the attitude of the insurance industry for us. But at this stage, if I do make a claim, they'd only know I was BR if a credit check was part of their claim process, or if they ask on the claim form whether I'm BR.

I'm happy with things as they are and I'll deal with the renewal when it's due.

As part of most claims they routinely perform credit checks and criminal record checks before even considering sending an adjuster out. They call these 'knock out factors' to see if you have either lied on your initial application or if you have not kept them up to date afterwards. I value your confidence but I know should you ever be unfortunate enough to need to make a claim, and going back to my example of liability you may have nothing of material value but liability may cost thousands of pounds; that claim will be lobbed out the window before they even consider about sending someone out.

I appreciate your kind words about the work I've done so far, but I really hope you don't need to make a claim or have any accident where someone claims against your insurance for something that happens to them on or near your property - you will end up with a bill that could end up as a ball and chain around your neck for years to come.

OK, carefully checked the schedule and T&Cs again. Schedules lists specific changes in circumstances I need to inform them off, none of which are related to financial changes. Under T&Cs the only clause potentially causing a problem is:

"..you provide any inaccurate or misleading information or you fail to disclose any matter which would have affected our decision to enter into this Agreement of the Policy"

As 'we' entered into the agreement before I went BR then I don't see that necessitates me telling them I went BR during the term of the policy. It's about disclosing info that would have affected the decision at the time I took the policy out with them, not about changes which may make them want to cease or amend the policy.

So I'll stick with it thanks. Don't worry about trying to convince me any further, you've put your case forward, I've put mine forward and I've made my decision based on the policy wording. Hopefully our discussion will help others in the future though.

Been reading all the posts with interest. Just thought you may be interested in my story.

As if going through the trauma of bankruptcy isn't bad enough, I now find that it stays on public record well into the foreseeable future. I was bankrupted in 1998 after foolishly signing a personal guarantee for a corporate loan. Even though I pleaded with my creditors to give me some time to repay, they just could not wait to foreclose, and the Insolvency Service seemed to delight in joining-in the feeding frenzy. Now, 20 years on, I am still dogged with the stigma, as home insurers ask the question 'have you or anyone living with you ever been declared bankrupt?'. This seems crazy! Having gone through it once it will never happen again. In fact I'm a better risk now than ever. Surely, a more pertinent question would be 'have you ever been convicted of fraud?' Now I find that my current insurer, on their renewal documents, have said that I answered 'No' to this question, when, in fact, in this case they didn't actually ask it when I originally applied some 3 or 4 years ago. I am contacting them, in writing, and advising them of this oversight, but you can bet your shirt they will either bump-up the premiums or decline.

I have to say that House and Car insurance haven't been an issue so far - but I do pay upfront for the year (its cheaper) Even though the companies I have used haven't asked 'if I've ever..' I always call them to check and so far, none have said no to cover - just that I couldn't get instalments for the first couple of years.
I totally agree that them asking about fraud would be far more pertinent! Ironically you can be convicted of fraud (or even murder!!) and the data is deleted after a few years - for BR its there forever.

Very interesting

I'm having to renew my car insurance shortly. Did last year just after going bankrupt with direct line, pay monthly. Don't remember being asked if I was bankrupt(done online). Guess I need to take more care when I renew

Just make sure you read through all the assumptions,
I never had a problem with either put always paid for the year

im just looking at this and checking my policy, the wording is this on mine
To keep premiums low we do participate in a number of industry initiatives to prevent and
detect fraud. To help prevent crime we may at any time:
!!!61559; Approach the DVLA to check all or any relevant driving licence details of anyone named on
the policy;
!!!61559; Share information about you with other organisations and public bodies including the
police;
!!!61559; Share information about you and any other named drivers on the policy within the AXA
Group and with other insurers;
!!!61559; Pass the details you have supplied to recognised centralised insurance industry
applications, policy and claims checking systems (for example the Motor Insurance AntiFraud
and Theft Register, CUE, CIFAS and all DVLA databases) where those details will be
checked and updated.
!!!61559; Check the details you have supplied with fraud prevention agencies and databases
including publicly available data (for example on County Court Judgements, bankruptcy
information and electoral role data). If false or inaccurate information is provided and fraud
is identified, details will be passed to fraud prevention agencies to prevent fraud and
money laundering;
!!!61559; Periodically search records held by fraud prevention and credit reference agencies to:
!!!8226; help make decisions about credit services for you and your Financial Associates
!!!8226; help make decisions on insurance policies and claims for you and your Financial
Associates;
!!!8226; trace debtors, recover debt, prevent fraud and to manage your insurance policies
!!!8226; check your identity to prevent money laundering.
!!!61559; Undertake credit searches and additional fraud searches
they never asked for my BR history and i was fully credit checked so surely they've accepted the credit check is complete and up to date, my BR is definitely on my credit file