Home Insurance Claims - Cause of
Loss
Step One - determine if you have the cover for
the loss or damage that has happened. This is a major
problem area. You can only claim if the cause of your loss
or damage is actually covered.
If you have read the section on policy cover
and understand your policy, you can skip this bit. So many
times, policyholders phone up and describe an event that has
happened only to find that, whilst they have buildings or
contents policy that the loss itself is not covered. And they
do not understand why.
Let me try and explain simply. There are
essentially two types of cover. One is 'standard' (standard
perils) the other is 'accidental damage' (all risks).
If you have the former, you must compare the
cause of the loss with the list of perils you are covered for.
Your contents policy might define that your three piece suite
is part of your contents but if you spill paint on it and you
only have standard cover, you cannot claim.
With accidental damage or all risks cover, you
need to check the exclusions to see if your cause of loss is
not covered. This small print lists those risks for which the
insurer is not prepared to provide cover. If it is not listed,
you are probably OK to claim. As so many more, smallish claims,
are paid for with this type of cover, it costs a lot more than
the standard cover.
"Mr. X is in hospital and says I can use his car
and take his wife
while he is there. What shall I do about it?" |
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Extracts taken from actual claim
forms submitted to
a number of UK car insurance companies |
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