Insurance Mess

Q

quarterfloun

Registered User
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117
I am currently renting.

I have two issues which I would like a bit of debate on...I approached my broker Nov. 2005 to cover contents at the premises I am renting. As the house was furnished much of my stuff from England (which I returned from) stayed in its boxes. These boxes as well as my Golf Clubs, Fishing Rods, Tent & ride on mower all went up in flames and I find out I did not have the Garage covered - according to my broker these should have been covered under an away from home policy! The Garage is part of the same structure so why is it away from home?

Similarly I use a broker to ensure that I am adequately covered as I can get cheaper insurance online. Has a broker not got some sort of duty of care to ensure (or at least advise) me on the correct policy to have in place, how can your garage not be part of your home if joined on?

Secondly I find out this policy was not in place. The sequence of events is that a week before renewal someone from the broker rang my wife to say the cover was due for renewal and asked did we still require it to which my wife replied yes we do. My wife said that I would be in to pay for it and it was left at that. No time frames were mentioned by either side. A couple of weeks later I was in taking out another policy on another house and said yto the girl "I'll sort them both out in a few weeks - is that OK?" Yes was the response. I took out cash to cover these policies on the 23rd of December and when I went in to pay them both after the fire I find out it was cancelled. I do not understand why it was cancelled when my wife and I clearly indicated we wanted it and when we were paying it. If we had been informed of an issue we would have paid it earlier. It is pretty much irrelevant give we would have had the wrong policy anyway but I really feel aggrieved that I paid out money for a policy in year one that covered nothing and in year two my policy was cancelled even though (as we understood it) we were OK.

I also am very angry that I paid for professional services and got the wrong policy to start and that it was cancelled without notification despite both the broker and ourselves being aware it was required.
 
I'm not a property insurance broker but I thought that you had to be informed in writing that a policy was cancelled. If you didn't get such a written notification, ask the broker and/or insurance company why not.

Have you complained to the broker about the garage not being covered and the policy not being renewed? If so, what was the broker's response?
 
The sequence of events is that a week before renewal someone from the broker rang my wife to say the cover was due for renewal and asked did we still require it to which my wife replied yes we do. My wife said that I would be in to pay for it and it was left at that. No time frames were mentioned by either side. A couple of weeks later I was in taking out another policy on another house and said to the girl "I'll sort them both out in a few weeks - is that OK?"
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Do I understand from the quote taken above that you didn't pay the renewal fee until after the date of renewal had passed?

As a lay person (not connected with insurance other than as a customer), my understanding from any renewal notices I've received is that there are no days of grace granted - if you do not pay the renewal fee by the expiry date of the existing insurance policy, you are not insured.
 
You should have gotten a renewal notice with the renewal date on it and it should have stated that there would be no cover if not paid before the renewal date.
I understand that they said ok but from the sounds of it more than a month passed from the renewal date so it is understandable that it was cancelled especially if you got a reminder letter and a cancellation letter. Did you? The number of times a broker can chase up a policy is limited as the broker has to pay the company within the month. I have often had cases where someone has said they need the policy but still not come in to pay and we have had to cancel. A letter will always be issued after cancellation but the onus is on you to pay on time. You can't fault the broker for that. They gave you a month post renewal date to pay and you didn't.

As for the garage not being covered, did you specify the golf clubs and fishing equiptment as they would need to be specified under sports equiptment, even on a normal house policy as far as I am aware.If you were holding items of such value in a garage you should have made them aware. You more than likely had a contents only policy which would be restricted to contents in the house itself, not items in storage(which is what content in the garage would be viewed as). If you check your policy booklet it will probably state that cover is restricted.
If you did mention the items in the garage to the broker then the onus is on them to ensure it is covered. If you didn't then you have learned an expensive lesson..... always read the policy booklet in order to ensure you are adequatley covered. Brokers aren't psychic and unless you advise them of exactly what you need cover for they aren't going to know.
 
your policy was perhaps LAPSED (not renewed) rather than CANCELLED.

I would think that if you were aware of the renewal date, and if the broker said that they would hold you on cover, then you may have a case against broker.

Is broker a member of one of the brokers associations?

You could also complain to financial regulator
 
Ravima said:
your policy was perhaps LAPSED (not renewed) rather than CANCELLED.

I would think that if you were aware of the renewal date, and if the broker said that they would hold you on cover, then you may have a case against broker.

Is broker a member of one of the brokers associations?

You could also complain to financial regulator
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I think that would depend on how long since the renewal date passed....There is only so long they will hold it without payment....

op , when was the money due for the renewal ?
 
From the op it would appear that the policy was due in Nov and OP went in to pay on 23rd Dec after a claim had occured.
 
First of all I have a genuine aversion to all things that remotely look like a form so one of the reasons I use brokers is to avoid them and to rely on their expertise. I would no more expect my broker to understand the intricacies of Exchange Server than I would of insurance clauses, pitfalls, cover ratios etc. I expect them to ask me the relevant questions and then sell me the appropriate product. Yes, I did receive all those letters mentioned but I was in there, stated I would be paying etc. so as far as I was concerned, unless someone tells me different when I'm talking to them I expected to be covered. I paid 40% more to this broker than an equivalent policy online and that is so I can sleep in the knowledge that I have the right cover. The same way I ensure my clients get what they need I expect the same by return. I do not assume things on their behalf, I drill down to the minutae to ensure that the installation meets their expectation and that they are aware of the features so they can get the best out of their investment. I tried reading the booklet - it was as clear as mud. On a plus point I have arranged a meeting to put this behind us, I have learned an expensive lesson, leave nothing to the professionals. I tell you a funny thing though - when I went in to claim and found out I was not covered I suggested that they have an idiot sheet - An A4 page with general trip ups highlighted - ie concentrate from their experiece over many years a list of circumstances where people found out that they were not covered. The look on their faces when I suggested it - you would think I came from Mars! And why should I not expect "a months grace" when everybody who pays me thinks 30 days is a good enough place to start. If it is good enough for business to wait 30, 60 & 90 days why can't they wait the same?
 
quarterfloun said:
And why should I not expect "a months grace" when everybody who pays me thinks 30 days is a good enough place to start. If it is good enough for business to wait 30, 60 & 90 days why can't they wait the same?
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Because no on wants to pay for insurance when their house/car hasn't burned down/crashed....

I have never heard of a grace period longer than 10 days on insurance....
 
If you received all the letters you havn't a leg to stand on. The insurance broker is not there to babysit you and keep going after you for your money - he has to pay the company within a certain timeframe and as long as he sent out the notices required before the policy was lapsed then you have no comeback.
 
quarterfloun said:
First of all I have a genuine aversion to all things that remotely look like a form so one of the reasons I use brokers is to avoid them and to rely on their expertise. I would no more expect my broker to understand the intricacies of Exchange Server than I would of insurance clauses, pitfalls, cover ratios etc. I expect them to ask me the relevant questions and then sell me the appropriate product.
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Well, you should be aware that the onus is on the insured to advise of anything which will affect the policy. So where you have property stored in the garage the onus is on you to disclose it. A broker cannot be aware of the ins and outs of your lifestyle/ home. You say you want to avoid forms. You would have filled in a proposal and been given the policy booklet. If you choose not to read it then it is a lesson learned really. Every policy from every company varies. So had you spelled out exactly what you needed and they had not provided this for you then yes, they are incorrect. If you eliminate details then they cannot cover you properly.
As for the reminders and cancellation letters, you chose to ignore them. The brokers have 30 days post renewal date in which to pay the insurance company. This is why they will not allow a longer period of grace.
If I rang and said I was going to be paying and then got a reminder/cancellation notice I would call to query why and to make sure I was covered.
You have no legal standing and in my opinion no reasonable complaint against the broker.
 
quarterfloun - the same rules for Insurance which relate to Insurance in the UK are the same here. For Motor Insurance there are no days of grace - if the Policy is not paid on renewal date it is canceled. For House Insurance, the grace period is 10 days. If not dealt with within this time you are jiggered. Basically if the Broker keeps the Policy alive after that date, they are liable for the premium whether it is taken up or not. If the house is rented, surely the landlord (owner of the property) holds Insurance. It is a bit rich to expect a Broker without personal knowledge of you to hold open a Policy. No point in blaming all and sundry for your mistakes, especially when the same rules apply all over Europe.
 
Also the only way you will get a 30 day credit period from an Insurance Broker is if they know you and you have substantial business with them.
 
I must say you are all fantastic citizens - all paying bills when due, never having cash flow problems, God bless you all. I'd love to have you lot as my exclusive customer set - you would know what you want, you would be expert in all things IT and pay me as soon as I'd finished doing the job which you could do yourself....happy days :)

So you have never paid a bill late in your entire life?

You read everything from front to back?

And you are expert enough in everything to know what you are looking for in small print no matter the subject?

Mundo Fantastico!!!

My expectation of the service I'd like to receive from anyone matches the service I strive to offer. It's just a shame my customers expect me to give and give and when I expect the ability to reciprocate - oh no - can't work both for and against you - only against you.
 
I think you are taking your problems out on the world. Its as common as night follows day that Insurance cover lapses if a payment date is missed. You are in business and you are saying that you never heard this before !! Did you check with the landlord of your property as under normal circumstances they would have Insurance cover for buidings and contents.
 
quarterfloun said:
You read everything from front to back?

And you are expert enough in everything to know what you are looking for in small print no matter the subject?
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Probably not - but at least some of us try...
quarterfloun said:
First of all I have a genuine aversion to all things that remotely look like a form ...
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How do you manage to be an expert in your own field in spite of your form phobia?
 
mercman said:
I think you are taking your problems out on the world. Its as common as night follows day that Insurance cover lapses if a payment date is missed. You are in business and you are saying that you never heard this before !! Did you check with the landlord of your property as under normal circumstances they would have Insurance cover for buidings and contents.
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The only contents cover the landlord would probably have is his own belongings not the tenants.
 
Generally garages wouldn't have the same level of security as the hosue to which they are attached. A home insurance policy that i had to advise on recently did have provision for a graden shed but only for gardening items. If you didn't tell the broker that you were storing all those items in it how was he to know?
 
Even if the landlord had full contents insurance this situation needed an extra provision for the stuff store din the garage.
 
I got the impression that the Garage was part of the house - same structure etc. Some Landlords insure a PC sum for contents so there may be some room for cover.From the orignal post it was fire that caused the damage and not a theft.
 
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