Home Help, can't get house insurance because of past claims

sideswipe

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Hi guys, I have a house rented to a family. In the last year an attic pipe burst in the cold weather and a neighbors house fire caused damage meaning I had to claim twice (have never claimed before in 15 years of owning a house).
My insurance company has now said they will not renew my cover and I am finding it impossible to find another insurer. Does anybody know what options are available in this situation?

Thanks
 
it depends how much your claim was for. 123.ie do not take claims of under €5000 into consideration but you would still have to inform them of the claim.
 
The 2 claims combined was over €5000. Have tried 123.ie but it seems there underwriter will not cover us because we have claimed before.
 
That seems crazy, what is the point of house insurance if they refuse you cover after a claim?
 
most insurers will look at up to 10k in claims within the last 3 years without it being an issue. Would steer clear of 123.ie. Not convinced that Travelers, who underwrite their household policies will stay in the market for long considering this is their first jump into this market.

Anyways you should be able to get cover easy enough. Give a broker a shout and let them approach a few companies. Shouldnt be a huge problem.
 
Thanks for the advice folks.

I have approached several brokers and they have said they cannot get anybody to quote for me. I was with Zurich through 123.ie and they are now a tied agent for Travelers. It seems Travelers have gone through 123's present customer list and refused to cover anybody outside their criteria even though in our case we never had to claim in 10 years and then 2 pretty major incidents happened in the last year. I wanted to continue my policy with Zurich but was told by them that I'd have to go through my broker (even though Zurich doesn’t work with 123.ie anymore).

My question is weather 123 are obliged in any way to help us continue our policy or help us arrange an alternative?
 
unfortunately they are under no obligation. However if you have a mortgage, you should approach your bank. They would have to have a scheme with an insurer to cover their own interest.
 
re approaching your bank i understand that they merely note their interest in the policy which you have taken out. Good idea to tell them of your problem as they will be advised by your last insurer that the policy is cancelled.
 
This seems to be the way Travellers are going, I find it a bit harsh they way they are going about their business, however if you stand your ground they will quote you, it happened a girl in my office.
 
Hi guys, I have a house rented to a family. In the last year an attic pipe burst in the cold weather and a neighbors house fire caused damage meaning I had to claim twice
Did you try to claim from your neighbours' insurance for the fire damage? It should have been their responsibility to pay out on that. It's not too late to do it now and would reduce your number of claims to just one...
 
Your policy was with Zurich. Your renewal should be with Zurich regardless of whether or not your broker dumped them because they got a better commission elsewhere.
 
Did you try to claim from your neighbours' insurance for the fire damage? It should have been their responsibility to pay out on that. It's not too late to do it now and would reduce your number of claims to just one...


That's not true unfortunately, its called the Accidental Fires Act. You could only claim off their insurance if the fire had been caused by a negligent act of your neighbour. If it was a case for example that their electrics malfunctioned and started the blaze through no act or lack of act on their behalf, they wouldn't be considered negligent and you couldn't claim against them.
 
I always thought your past insurer had to give you a quote and could not refuse, but at the same time, they could set the price?
 
Go to a broker who does deal with Zurich.
Ask them to do an agency transfer (basically put in writing to Zurich that you now want Joe Bloggs Broker to be your broker instead of 123.ie).
The policy will be transferred to that broker and you should be able to renew it.
 
Your policy was with Zurich. Your renewal should be with Zurich regardless of whether or not your broker dumped them because they got a better commission elsewhere.

Incorrect as 123.ie are not a broker! They are only a tied agent of travelers.
 
Hello All, I am now in the same position. My house insurance has just been cancelled. Any update as to where I can purchase any.
 
Hello All, I am now in the same position. My house insurance has just been cancelled. Any update as to where I can purchase any.
Can you give some more details - Why was your insurance cancelled (how many claims, what type of claims (fire? theft? flood?), for how much and over what period of time)? Do you have a mortgage?
 
I'm insured with FBD. Over the last five years ive had some awful bad luck regarding the house. Chimney fire, leak from wasing machine, and a mains water leak that destroyed all the downstairs floors. My claims have totaled around 20k i'd say.

I didint even want to ring about the mains leak but the damage was so bad i had no choice. FBD were fantastic. I told them how worried i was that i woulding get insured again and they assured me i'd only lose the no claims discount of 1 year that i had. An assessor came out every time and he also said if the claim was genuine that there was no problems getting paid, they covered for all the damage. Insurance isint up until next April, i guess i wont find out until then if they indeed will cover me. My premium this year was roughly €550. No loading of the policy. My experience of FBD is that they are very understanding. I did try other companies to see if i could get cover and no one would touch it (unsurprisingly)

Why dont you try them?
 
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