Home Policy cancelled and fee deducted

Hi,

Recently purchased home contents insurance from FBD and paid up front for the year.

When the proposal form arrived i noticed that the addresses and personal details on it were incorrect so i called up asked them to correct these errors which they said they would.

The same thing happened again, and again, and again. They told me i should amend the proposal form myself but i said i didnt feel comfortable doing this so they said they would send out a corrected proposal again.

Since then ive received a registered letter telling me that the policy has been cancelled and 50 euro has been deducted as an admin fee.

I called and was told that this would not be refunded.

Do i have any come-back on this as i never stopped communicating with them and was very clear about what my problem was from the start?

Normally you would have a 14 day cooling off period when you can cancel the policy from inception by returning the documents and stating the policy wasnt suitable for your requirements.

How did you purchase the policy that the details were wrong? Online? Why didn't you change the details on the proposal? If you completed it online and they sent you a stamenent of fact to confirm the details then you should have made the necessary amendments and sent it back.

Its really going to come down to reading the terms and conditions of the policy. An insurer can cancel your policy in writing without giving you a reason by giving you notice by registered post. The terms will outline anything about cancellation fees.

Have you tried following FBD's complaints policy?

FBD values your feedback especially if we fail to deliver a high standard of service. Your feedback provides us with an opportunity to rectify a problem and ensure it does not reoccur. If you would like to give us feedback on your experience with FBD, or have cause for complaint please contact us at 1890 617 617 or by e-mailing us at info@fbd.ie.

If you are not satisfied with our response or, indeed, how the complaint has been handled, you may refer the matter : The Insurance Director, FBD Insurance plc, Bluebell, Dublin 12, who has the responsibility within FBD for complaints handling.

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Good Point Complainer.

On another note, if the details error was made by the Insurance company, and they cashed your cheque, I do not think they are able to cancel the Policy. You and they entered into a contract, they set the terms, you paid and they have canceled the Policy, and now they are in breach of contract.

Personally I would stick by my guns.

Thanks very much for the replies.

I called and spent about 20 mins being brick walled before getting through to a supervisor who sorted things out for me.

The original cancellation stood but i got requoted and the 50 euro was deducted from the new premium.

I ended up paying 8 euro extra but at least it beats 50, and the policy is much cheaper than others.

Not so fast.

For the record, you have had a policy cancelled on you by an insurer.

You are now obliged to declare this fact every time you propose for insurance in the future. You will be asked if any insurer has refused cover, imposed terms or cancelled a policy and so on. You must answer in the affirmative and declare the FBD situation and explain it every time. If you answer in the negative you could be guilty of non-disclosure and that creates a complex of future insurance problems every time you look for insurance.

The FBD response of simply standing over the cancellation - due to their messing as I read it -is really not good enough. For your own protection you would need, at a very minimum, to get a letter from FBD verifying the facts so that you could show that to other insurers in the future and keep yourself in the clear.

I would complain like hell if FBD did not supply a letter of the type that I suggested.

Thanks DirectDevil, I hadnt even considered this!