Has anybody got experience of challenging an insurer over a refused claim ?
circumstances are :-
I placed my home / property and car insurance with *********** in 2006
whilst residing in France at this property.In Autumn 2009 I had to
return to the UK leaving my French property empty and under the
regular care of my caretakers - before leaving i visited my local
************ office to discuss this and informed the staff of my change of
circumstances to ensure the insurance was all correct , i was not told
of any restrictions.
In early 2012 there was very cold weather in France so my caretakers
operated the boiler to keep the system / pipes warm ,but on a
subsequent security check they found burst pipes and a frozen boiler
etc.(plumber says the electric must have tripped and stopped the boiler)
I have since tried to claim on my insurance and they have refused my
claim as the property was no longer my permanent residence , stating
that I must empty all pipes and boilers of any water if the house will
be empty for even a few days.
Despite writing to the company and its managers etc they have refused
to accept my claim.
My position is that when i visited the office to discuss my situation
they did not offer an alternative insurance or make me aware of a
reduction in what i may be covered for , and between Autumn 2009 and
April 2012 we have visited the property around 25 times for holidays /
short stays etc and expect to be able to arrive to a warm house with
the central heating operating - and not to have to start refilling and
emptying the central heating every time which is just ludicrous and
impractical.
I would be interested to understand what steps i can take to recover
the replacement cost of the boiler and repairs.
Steve