Home insurance problem.

[cyprusgaz]

I'm experiencing difficulties with my house insurance. The company representative visited and committed to dealing with the internal damage in full. They have since gone back on this and offered 1/4 towards remedial work. My question before I visit them is, can I have the matter referred to an ombudsman type organisation? Any advice appreciate.

[jackvern]

Cannot help you with regards to an umbudsman but am having similar problems with my sons insurance claim.
Have been offered a part payment to settle the claim but am currently disputing this and asking for the assessors report in English. Whilst my rep is very helpful and responsive its head office making the decisions. I will eventually confront head office and see what redress we have. Have had the same insurance company for 10 years and I must say that previous car insurance claims have been met. Property seems to,be the bugbear. Would be very interested to see if there is an arbitration option.

[tomsteel]

Surely your broker/insurance agent can advise you on any appeal procedure?

[helendj]

Like jackvern I had similar problems with my insurance when my husband got DVT. It took 8 months of constant arguing and refusing to accept part payment that made them pay out properly. As a matter of interest is there any recommended insurance company out there? especially for house insurance? that would be very helpful to know

[13roman58]

Name of shame these companies

[cyprusgaz]

I want to give them the opportunity to follow their own due process. There will always be,I'm sure, an arbitrary route but I'm not that familiar with TRNC. I have visited the brokerage company today and expressed my displeasure. They have asked me for more time to speak with the head office. I will be returning on Monday. I'm interested in finding out what next steps are available to me. If anyone has been down this road I would be interested in any advice they could offer.

[Hedge-fund]

I am an ACII. What is the reason they are giving? Is it under-insurance? What was the cause of damage and what was the damage? Is it contents or buildings damage or both?

[cyprusgaz]

Blocked drain on enclosed balcony torrential rain at Christmas. Water soaked into bedroom floor and brought down ceiling in living room. Insurance company says its wear and tear. Wear and tear beats me unless Lionel Richie is dancing on our ceiling.m

[Hedge-fund]

Blocked drain on enclosed balcony torrential rain at Christmas. Water soaked into bedroom floor and brought down ceiling in living room. Insurance company says its wear and tear. Wear and tear beats me unless Lionel Richie is dancing on our ceiling.m

They are alleging the pipework/drain was not maintained properly? Or are they alleging the property itself was not sound?

If they are accepting 25% of the claim I assume they accept the damage was caused by an insured peril and are querying the extent to which poor maintenance made the damage worse than it otherwise might have been?

Sorry for the questions - PM if better - once I know exactly what their issue is I may be able to help.

I am not aware of an ombudsman here and my own household insurance documents don't mention an appeals procedure. We are therefore left with legal action due to their refusal to honour the terms of a contract. Depending on your answers it may be necessary to get a report from a tradesman on the condition of the property/pipework to show it was in a good state of repair/maintenance etc.

As I say, the encouraging factor is that they seem to be accepting it as a valid claim but are trying to limit their liability to a strict indemnity rather than replacement.

[sophie]

It seems to me, that over the years "it (whatever it happens to be) has not been properly maintained" is the stock reply for most claims for water ingress and the easiest get out clause for the Ins, companies. Particularly if a flat roof is involved.

[geroff]

Cyprusgaz, I have sent you a PM .... ....

[DenizIsmail]

Its things like this which stop people taking out home insurance ? I have had a quote from an insurance cover for our holiday home and now reading this I am not too sure? You pay £300PA for several years and then when you need them most they do not pay out?

[jackvern]

Cyprusgaz I have checked my own insurance policy for water leaks cover and it just says internal water.The alleged cover for this is 145.000.TL. My sons policy is I think the same. The insurance company is now saying that fractured pipe work is covered but faulty roofs or seepage through the roof is not. I have a meeting at head office of Kibris sigorta tomorrow to thrash this out. I asked for the engineers report in English but after a week was told by the agent that they,the specialist would phone me direct. So far no call. My agent is a brick but his hands are tied. I am beginning to think that house insurance is a joke and as its due for renewal will probably pass. It happens everywhere not just here.They are in business to make money.

[whiskeyjoe]

Client of mine insured with Can Sigorta for over 10year , He has been in dispute with them since the storms on xmas eve last year, house flooded wardrobes ruined, mattresses ruined , plaster off the ceilings, mould everywhere due to the damp , carpets rugs all ruined, at first they offered to decorate and plaster with 400euro excess, He questioned them about the wardrobes mattresses and carpets, They eventually sent another assessor out after many ignored emails, Now they are saying the house was in disrepair and not looked after and they are not paying out , He involved his lawyer and they still refuse, only thing left is court, expensive with no guarantee, so no ombudsman a law to therself it seems . Name and shame by all means,
Brian,

[sophie]

We have stopped insuring contents, there are so many things they refuse to insure, and when they do the amount for replacing items is paltry, that quite frankly you might just as well put a small sum aside each month for breakages etc., and then replace if and when. Its called "self Insurance"

[geroff]

Any news on your claim Cyprusgaz? As many of us would like to know your outcome...

Does makes you wonder if insuring the house and pool is ever worth it ...

[AzantServices]

Hi All,

I am writing from Azant Insurance Agency and just wanted to point out that there is an Insurance Association and also there is an independent assessor that is brought in by Insurance Companies when there is a dispute over whether something is covered or not covered.

You can ask your insurance agent or company to refer you to them if you wish to speak with them separately or if you are unhappy with the information you are being given.

The independent assessor in no way agrees with the Insurance company if it is legally something that is covered on the policy.

When we issue any house policy we write certain things/notes on the policy to ensure that the customer understands exactly what is and isn't covered. Excesses are detailed on the policy in english also. We also try to inform customers of their responsibilities and duties when it comes to maintaining your property.

If anyone has any questions about Home Insurance or any form of insurance on offer here in North Cyprus then please email me on AnthonyMcCartney@azantinsurance.com or you can call me on 0533 833 0841.

[cyprusgaz]

Thanks Anthony for that input, I'm sure members will take note of what you mentioned. I have now resolved my predicament with the insurance company. I was advised by a friend to take the nuisance approach. I turned up on consecutive days and made a fuss. I was also lucky enough to have other customers present to see and hear my deliberation on how dishonerable they where and through the process of social media whinging it would cost them business. On my second appearance the manager came to light from obscurity saying there had been a mix up and the matter will be resolved and my claim honoured. I am due to pick up the cheque tomorrow.

[Ragged Robin]

As a matter of interest, I was told that no insurances companies in the TRNC would not insure on a Replacement as new" instead of an indemnity policy. Basically that means that if you have an item which is worth say £500 new , but is worn though serviceable at the time of claim and valued at £250 second hand, the Insurers will only pay £250, This means that if there are no second hand items available you have to shell out the whole £500 or even more if prices have risen since you bought it - less what the Insurers are prepared to offer on current value of course. This can cause real problems for an item which you cannot realistically do without, such as a fridge or a PC. In the UK I always used to insure Replacement as New - even though it meant higher premiums it saved me the worry of having to find large sums in the event of a disaster,

I have been unable to find an Insurance Company here who would insure "as new" , in fact I got the impression they do not understand the principle. Of course Insurance Policies are complicated legal documents , difficult enough to understand in one's native language - I think a lot gets lost in translation.

I should be very glad to hear from anyone who knows differently.

[Keithcaley]

...I should be very glad to hear from anyone who knows differently.

I doubt that you'll do much better than follow the suggestion in post 17...

...If anyone has any questions about Home Insurance or any form of insurance on offer here in North Cyprus then please email me on AnthonyMcCartney@azantinsurance.com or you can call me on 0533 833 0841.

[Ragged Robin]

I may well do when my current Policy comes up for renewal. Meanwhile it is interesting to hear others' experiencs.

[kaiserphil]

Thanks Anthony for that input, I'm sure members will take note of what you mentioned. I have now resolved my predicament with the insurance company. I was advised by a friend to take the nuisance approach. I turned up on consecutive days and made a fuss. I was also lucky enough to have other customers present to see and hear my deliberation on how dishonerable they where and through the process of social media whinging it would cost them business. On my second appearance the manager came to light from obscurity saying there had been a mix up and the matter will be resolved and my claim honoured. I am due to pick up the cheque tomorrow.

Please let us know if you received your cheque, and for the correct amount.

[sophie]

If you have any jewelry i.e the real thing, keep to the minimum and then give rest away to the family, because you sure as hell can't get it properly insured here. You can take photos of it all, with full description and kept in a reputable safe etc., and still you'll only receive a paltry amount back. You'll wait for yonks and they will try and blame you.!!

[Ragged Robin]

What woud really help a lot of us would be Pet Insurance, enabling us to insure against Vets fees in the case of major illness or accident to a loved a loved animal and toA pay kennel charges in the event our ourselves being unable to care for them due to illness or other compassionate grounds

Animal public liability against injury by dog attack or bite would also be a good idea, but of course those who really needed it would not take it up"

I suppose I shall now be told this should be under Pets but I beleive it is equally relevant to insurance.

[Keithcaley]

I noticed that a 'Cyprusscene' article mentioned that Pet Insurance is available in TRNC: -

"We had been made aware of a new pet insurance scheme which Near East Bank are offering to cover dogs and cats. Basically the cover is for pets over 8 weeks old and in the case of death of a pet the maximum ages are 10 years old for dogs and 9 years old for cats. Certain breeds of dogs are not accepted for cover. The cover also includes Cat and Dog overseas travel and quarantine costs. We were given documentation about the scheme but it is too comprehensive to list everything here so if you are interested in taking out insurance for your pet, contact Near East Bank for more information."

Over to you, you might let us all know about costs, exclusions, excesses etc. after you have contacted them...

[cyprusgaz]

Cheque for full amount now received included also an apology for the misunderstanding. Lesson Learned by me again!! Just because we do it this way in the UK it doesn't necessarily cross over to here. Will I ever learn? Still making a fuss paid off in the end.

[kaiserphil]

Cheque for full amount now received included also an apology for the misunderstanding. Lesson Learned by me again!! Just because we do it this way in the UK it doesn't necessarily cross over to here. Will I ever learn? Still making a fuss paid off in the end.

Full marks for your persistence!