Insurance policy "incorrect" after claim, told the premium has doubled with Insure4boats

[gavva2010]

I have a small boat kept at my local marina, insured with insure4boats.

 

I made a claim after an incident in mid-July, & asked that the claim be fast-tracked as the boat is unusable until it's repaired. The premium paid was around the £140.00 mark.

 

I was contacted by Insure4boats earlier this week, & informed that the policy I have is incorrect, as it is for "inland use." I had called them back in June to query the policy wording, as the Marina is situated on a Tidal river, & this seemed incorrect. I was advised on the phone "this is a wording issue, the policy you have is correct." 

 

They are now demanding a further payment of £138.00, & said they will continue to "consider my claim" once this payment is made. This would make the whole premium around £280.00 for this year.

 

I have just ran through a comparison site, where the cheapest premium is £196.00 for the year, & the most expensive £281.00, on a like-for-like basis. had I been quoted this amount back in June, I certainly wouldn't have used them. I have emailed them, telling them I'm not prepared to pay this further amount, & had no response back.

 

Can anybody advise on this,

I'm prepared to go to the Insurance Ombudsman, & if necessary to the small-claims track of the county court, or MCOL, both to recover the money paid for incorrect insurance policies over the past 3 years, & also to force them to honour the claim made.

 

I am now minded to cancel the policy altogether with them, & seriously regret having any dealings with insure4boats.

 

On the Policy schedule, it clearly states "If any of the details are incorrect or have changed please contact us immediately by telephone 0800 668 1661". This is exactly what I did, to query the "inland, non-tidal" aspect of the policy wording. I was assured this was not an issue, clearly by somebody who actually had no idea.

 

They were provided the name & Location of the Marina when the policy was taken out, & the fact it was situated on a tidal river in England. They now claim "I took out the wrong policy". 

 

I am extremely unhappy about this situation, & would appreciate any advice you can give. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by dx100uk
spacing

[dx100uk]

please up a corrected version and we will swap.

 

[unclebulgaria67]

What is the value of the claim ?

 

I would suggest that you pay the additional premium and have the claim processed, But when you pay the addiitional amount, state that it is being paid under protest and that you will referring the matter to the FOS. Ask them if they will send their complaints final decision letter stating the amount of £138 is due, stating the reasons for this, so that the matter may be escalated to the FOS without delay,

 

And I would suggested sending a Data protection subject access request to get hold of records. Do you have proof that they told you the policy you had was ok for the boats location ?

 

 

[gavva2010]

Thx unclebulgaria, I've been away for a few weeks - the claim value is around the £1200 mark. I have already made the additional payment over the phone to them, however the claim has still not been settled. The season is essentially over now, I won't be taking any further insurance out  with Insure4Boats/Ripe, it's just ridiculous that it's taken this amount of time. 

 

I don't have proof that they said it was "just a wording issue" to quote them, as I had called them on the phone to query this. I now wish I had emailed, as I would have a copy of their response to refer to. 

 

I didn't mention "payment under protest" during the call, would it be best to email them making them aware of this?  

 

 

[unclebulgaria67]

Chase up payment of the claim and register complaint about the issue saying you have paid the extra amount under protest, but would look to involve the FOS in reviewing.