Broker moves policy mid term to different insurer

pureirish

Hi,

Quick question for those of you in the insurance industry.

I have just found out on renewal that my broker moved my house insurance policy mid term last year to a different insurer without notifying me. Now, I phoned the new insurer and not only was the excess agreed (with the previous insurer) higher but they have also not noted my mortgage providers interest on the property.

To make matters worse I had a claim on the policy on 31st July. I went through the whole process of logging the claim with the company I thought I was insured with (who didn't tell me any different) and now need to go through it all again with the new insurer.

Surely there are laws against this type of messing by a broker.

The crap excuse I was given was:

The insurer I was with decided to pull out of insuring houses in certain areas (as in whole suburbs) due to previous flooding claims.... Can they do this mid term after already agreeing to insure you?

The whole thing seems a total scam if you ask me.

Ogham

If you signed nothing - then this cannot be valid . WHo signed the insurance agreement - because you should have? Did the broker forge your signature? Sounds like a matter for the financial regulator or the ombudsman .

pureirish

Ogham wrote: »

If you signed nothing - then this cannot be valid . WHo signed the insurance agreement - because you should have? Did the broker forge your signature? Sounds like a matter for the financial regulator or the ombudsman .

I agree - thank you. This is exactly how I feel. To be honest I was willing to let it go until I found out today that the excess was wrong and my mortgage companies interest wasn't noted.

pureirish

Ogham wrote: »

If you signed nothing - then this cannot be valid . WHo signed the insurance agreement - because you should have? Did the broker forge your signature? Sounds like a matter for the financial regulator or the ombudsman .

I didn't sign anything.

oldyouth

The job of a broker is to search the best policy and premium options on your behalf and present them to you to decide. They should not make any decisions regarding your cover without your agreement, even if it is to your advantage. Seek a written explanation from them about this and decide upon your action depending on what they say. You have rights in this regard.

Also, very strange that you had to log your claim with an insurer, that's what you pay your broker for

broker2008

Talk to the broker about it I bet they were acting on your behalf and in your interest and would be surprised if somewhere along the line there wasnt an agreement or consent of some sort. Why else would they do it? Not having the mortgage company's interest noted is not a big deal and in fact it would mean that they would not have first call on the insurance cover if house burnt down. My mortgage company doesnt have their interest noted either. Let us know how you get on. Always exhaust all avenues before wasting regulator's time etc. You have to obtain the facts first.

godtabh

broker2008 wrote: »

Why else would they do it?

Money?

broker2008

kearnsr wrote: »

Money?

By money do you mean commission ? There should be no difference. I would be surprised if there wasn't a very good reason for what happened.

Cork Boy

broker2008 wrote: »

By money do you mean commission ? There should be no difference. I would be surprised if there wasn't a very good reason for what happened.

Must say i agree, sounds to me though that someone in the broker made a huge boo boo initially and tried to cover their tracks... worse case scenario.

Anyways, don't worry about it, you're insured one way or the other. This is why broker's have Professional Indemnity Insurance!

amdublin

pureirish wrote: »

The insurer I was with decided to pull out of insuring houses in certain areas (as in whole suburbs) due to previous flooding claims.... Can they do this mid term after already agreeing to insure you?

This seems reasonable to me. If you don't believe the broker why not ring the insurer and query it with them?

Would be interested to hear how you get on!

oldyouth

If I was a gambling man, I'd say your broker suddenly realised that your flood cover was deleted at the previous renewal and moved you mid-term to cover their oversight. Insurers do not alter the terms of a contract mid year

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