Home Insurance

• Your home insurance provider should be your first ‘port of call’ should anything covered under your policy go wrong in your house. They’ll often be able to deal with a problem quickly and efficiently through a network of service providers (e.g. plumbers, electricians etc.). Many insurers offer dedicated numbers where home emergencies can be reported.
• Once the immediate emergency had been dealt with you can start assessing the damage to your property (if any). Taking photographs of affected areas/items can prove very useful when making a claim.
• You would most likely have received instructions on making a claim with your policy documents. Make sure that you follow these to the letter and that you submit claims in a timely manner.
• If your claim is related to expensive items your insurer may want to see proof of purchase. Therefore, it’s good to be disciplined in filing the receipts for all ‘big ticket’ items that you purchase.
• Provide the insurer with accurate and comprehensive information. Don’t exaggerate your loss as this could lead to your whole claim being invalidated.

If you feel that an insurance claim was unreasonably rejected you should first contact your insurer to query the decision. If you’re still unhappy with the rejection, you could consider contacting the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Their website can be found by clicking here: The Financial Ombudsman Service.