So what are the most frequent reasons why a home insurance claim is turned down and what can you do about them? Here are the elements that most commonly put a claim at risk:
Falsified information – It’s tempting to tell a few ‘white lies’ on a home insurance policy in order to earn a cheaper premium – such as claiming you have a burglar alarm in place, or even giving out a false address because you know you live in a high crime area. However, most home insurers send out loss adjusters to assess a claim and will quickly discover if any of the information you have provided is false, which will automatically invalidate a claim.
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Failure to use security systems – One of the fastest ways to earn cheap homeowners insurance (PMI) is to install a number of security devices in your home such as burglar alarms, five mortise locks and time-switch lights. However, if your insurer is offering a discount because these devices are in place it expects them to be used. If your home is burgled when you leave the door unlocked and the alarm off for example, then this will be deemed negligence.
Lack of upkeep – If your property is not kept in good condition then a home insurance provider is not going to pay to have it repaired. It’s your responsibility to keep the house in a satisfactory state of repair. For example, if tiles were blown off your roof during a wind storm but the insurer found out that they were already loose or in poor condition then chances are your claim will be thrown out.
Repair work – If you’ve made a claim before and received a payout for repair work an insurer expects this work to be complete. However, if you instead pocket the cash and don’t repair the property only to then be forced to make another claim then your insurer is likely to refuse a second payout.
Remember it can be sensible to avoid home insurance claims for minor incidents. You can earn cheap home insurance by building up a no-claims bonus, so only make a claim when necessary.
