Home insurance cancelled

[jay1977jay]

I have home insurance for the last 3/4 years with the same company. This was renewed June 1st this year. The underwriters have contacted me to say that they are cancelling my policy on oct 1st because I have claimed 3 times In as many years. They state that this date is when my policy is due for renewal . In fact it is June 2012. I have not claimed or had a change in circumstances since renewing. They took my years premium in full. They have not sent me a refund but after calling the broker today they said they will do in the next few weeks. Does anyone know if this is normal procedure. I feel hard done by and they will not acknowledge the blatant wrong facts that they have stated in there letter. Can anyone advise please. Thanks in advance.

[factor-fiction]

I think it's best to try to sort it out with them first as it sounds like an error- maybe they have mixed you up with another property.

[flip_flop]

If your policy was renewed in June 2012, they absolutely cannot cancel the policy in October 2012 because of past claims.

If the policy actually does renew in October 2012, then they are perfectly at liberty to refuse renewal.

Given this, it would appear the renewal date is October.

If it isn't, and the policy was renewed in June, then there must be another reason for them cancelling.

Can't provide a full answer I'm afraid until all the facts are known.

[bobn449]

Having a high claims history would denote you as a high risk to an insurer and it is industry standard practice for the main stream insurance companies to only want customers that they can pigeon hole into nice low risk groupings... In your case it looks like you have been dealt with by the gods of statistics and your insurer has cancelled your policy due it the increase in your risk profile. This will have a negative impact on getting home insurance in the future as having a high claims profile and being a victim to cancellation of your policy would denote you as requiring specialist home insurance.
As to the facts that you state about incorrect details, if you feel that you have exhausted the complaints procedure of your insurer the you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service and place a formal complaint against you former insurer - this can take time but it will force the insurer into correcting the errors and they should give you, in writing the reasons for the cancellation.
I would recommend that you get adequate home insurance in place as soon as you can though, try HomeProtect, they offer some pretty good policies to people that may have had issues with a previous insurer.

[factor-fiction]

I think it's a bit earlier to start talking about using FOS. Surely if this was done through a broker the broker should be asked to sort it out.
Maybe a failure to disclose previous claims or key information has come to light so the insurer is withdrawing cover

[flip_flop]

bobn449 - if the policy was renewed in June, and payment of the premium has been made, the insurance company cannot cancel the policy in October just because of past claims.

[cathfromsaron]

i would speak to the broker and inform them that you are very unhappy and want this sorted PDQ!

one explanation is someone has a similar name or address to you ...

[bobn449]

if I may place another quick note, sorry to say Flip_Flop, and insurance company may cancel, invalidate or void a contract at any time if they feel that there has been wrong doing, but to cancel stating that this is a renewal is in fact a lie must be addressed by the vendor.
Also if in the policy terms and condition it states that you must not have more than 3 (as the OP says that he has had 3 claims) in as many years (also stated in the OP), then this would be a breach of terms and they can in fact cancel mid term, this is unusual but I have seen it happen...

[factor-fiction]

^ unless previous claims with another insurer hadn't been disclosed and the insurer subsequently became aware of them

[ummmm]

3 claims in 3 years is high. What were they for? Some people 'accidentally' damage/break things they want replacing. They might think your claims look a bit dodge.

[factor-fiction]

Crossed posts- mine was in response to flip-flop

[factor-fiction]

I think the first step is for jay1977jay to go back to the broker and find out the exact details. It may be a simple clerical error or it may be due to something like non-disclosure. It's possible the story has been misunderstood somewhere along the chain between insurer, broker and policy holder.
Then jay can come back when the picture is clearer

[flip_flop]

"if I may place another quick note, sorry to say Flip_Flop, and insurance company may cancel, invalidate or void a contract at any time if they feel that there has been wrong doing"

Quite - but there is no suggestion in the Q that there has been any misrepresentation/non-disclosure, hence my comment that a full answer cannot be given until the facts are known.

The second part of your second post is incorrect. Nowhere in any policy issued in the UK, personal or commercial, is the right of cancellation given to an insurer to cancel mid-term due to the number of claims. They can refuse to renew, but they cannot cancel mid-term. An insurance company accepts consideration of the payment of the premium and in return they promise to pay all valid claim that arise in the ensuing year.