Problem with household insurance claim

[Sparklingcider]

Hi,

Apologies if this post is in the wrong forum but wasn't too sure which other one to put it into?! I would really appreciate it if anyone could offer any advice for my situation.
I have had household insurance from Day 1 of becoming a homeowner and have in the past 11 years never had to make a claim of any sort. My insurance for the past year was due to finish at the very end of May. As always when I got the renewal a couple of weeks prior to this I did what I always do and went on to the internet on various comparison sites to get myself the best (cheapest) deal. (Looking for the best deal has obviously meant that it is rare that I have remained with the same company two years in a row).
Having found the best deal I took out insurance for the coming year (15/16) with a different provider to the one I had been with for the previous year (14/15). Time wise my new insurance commenced roughly about a week or so before my old insurance was due to expire (I always renew with a little overlap just to be on the safe side)!!! Having informed the previous providers that I would be going elsewhere and that I would need my current policy cancelling I was told that as it was due to expire anyway they would just let it run until then.
About 3 days into my new policy my son hit his football into the tv & it stopped working. With the tv being just over two years old and an expensive model and as we were covered for accidental damage I contacted the (new) insurance company to inform them. They agreed to take a look at it and took it away for repair a couple of days later.
At first everything seemed to be fine. An engineer informed the insurance company that the tv was a write off and the insurance company told us to either go out and buy a replacement and we would be reimbursed or else to wait for them to pay out. A week or so passed by & we heard nothing more and so I contacted them.
The insurance company have now changed their tune and we have been told a number of different things by a number of different staff (coincidentally our claims handler is now never available to speak to us or else he will ring us back but never does)!!!
First we were told the claim was being 'looked' into (whatever that means???), then we were told that they'd discovered we had 'dual' insurance running at the same time, then that we didn't even HAVE insurance with them (bearing in mind that they had agreed to take the tv away for repair and and when it was written off agreed to pay out for it), then that they were contacting our previous insurance company to try and settle the claim with them (???) and now today we have been told that another company (apparently someone from their legal team) wants to conduct a telephone interview with us later in the week to 'validate' our claim???!!! & on top of that when I asked for the tv back they have refused on the grounds that it has been written off???!!!
More than anything I am disgusted at their treatment of us especially the fact that it is me that has to keep phoning them and chasing up on the progress of the claim, not to mention the fact that I am being made to feel like a criminal making a fraudulent claim!!! I would obviously appreciate any advice as to where we stand legally and what our next best course of action would be and thanks in advance for any response(s).

[des8]

Re: Problem with household insurance claim

Well for a start you made a mistake running two policies at the same time. Never a good idea.
Usually you, as the insured, have the right to make the claim against whichever insurer you choose. That insurer then has the right of contribution from the other insurer.
Are you dealing with the actual insurer, an intermediary or a claims management company?
Can you post up a copy of your policy, in case there's a funny wording in it.? (that's a technical term:tinysmile_hmm_t2
Why did they say you weren't insured with them? presumably you have some documentation that says otherwise?
Well if they've taken your TV and refuse to return it and don't pay out they have a problem looming. If they aren't meeting the claim the item remains yours and they have no right to dispose of it
Just see what their "legal team member" has to say. Record the conversation, and advise them it is being recorded.

[Sparklingcider]

Re: Problem with household insurance claim

Well for a start you made a mistake running two policies at the same time. Never a good idea.
Usually you, as the insured, have the right to make the claim against whichever insurer you choose. That insurer then has the right of contribution from the other insurer.
Are you dealing with the actual insurer, an intermediary or a claims management company?
Can you post up a copy of your policy, in case there's a funny wording in it.? (that's a technical term:tinysmile_hmm_t2
Why did they say you weren't insured with them? presumably you have some documentation that says otherwise?
Well if they've taken your TV and refuse to return it and don't pay out they have a problem looming. If they aren't meeting the claim the item remains yours and they have no right to dispose of it
Just see what their "legal team member" has to say. Record the conversation, and advise them it is being recorded.

Oh dear the start of your reply does not sound good!!! I did mention though that having two policies running was not intentional - I did inform the previous insurer of my taking out a new policy with a different provider and the fact that it was still running at the same time as my claim with the new insurer has only just come to light over the weekend when I rang to get an update on my claim. I also only found out during this conversation that they have been trying to contact my previous insurer, which by the way due to the DPA I didn't think they were allowed to do???
In answer to your question regarding to whom I've spoken to, at the moment it has only been the insurance company staff themselves. As I said I never speak to the same person twice and each person I speak to tells me something new/different, i.e. that the claim is being 'investigated', that I'm not insured, that I can't have my tv back, etc, etc....
I am obviously starting to get seriously worried about this and would like to know am I in some sort of trouble over this and do I need to get a solicitor involved prior to the telephone 'interview' they want me to do??? Again thanks for taking the time and trouble to respond - its obviously very much appreciated!!!

[des8]

Re: Problem with household insurance claim

No, no, not in trouble.
I realise you were not intentionally carrying dual insurance, but acting in the manner you do (renew early and cancel existing) leads to paying twice for insurance for a short period as you will not receive a return of unused premium from existing policy. Not IMO a good idea.
Also, although it is not illegal to carry dual insurance, it is illegal to make two claims for the one event. To have 2 policies for household insurance is an unusual scenario, and so as soon as the insurers realise there is dual insurance (even if it is by accident) alarm bells will ring and settlement will be delayed whilst investigations are carried out.
Insurers do swap information for the prevention of fraud, and somewhere along the line you will have agreed to that. Because there is a potential for fraud (but no one should be accusing
you of it) your two insurers will communicate with each other.
They will also want to speak to you directly just to ensure there is nothing fraudulent. As it is easily established you have only made one claim there should be no problem.

Could you tell us who the Insurance company is, and the policy you have?