Home insurance - Undervalued lost/stolen property

Based on resolver's experience to date, the undervaluing the payout for lost or stolen property can occur in two ways. The first way will simply be that your home insurer has underestimated the value of the property stolen. This can be easily remedied by writing a letter to your insurer setting out the items of property that were lost and attaching receipts or like-for-like quotes for each item to the letter. You may have to evidence the items that were lost or stolen (using a police report) and you should be aware that in some situations your insurer will decrement the value of the property lost (if it is old) compared to a new version of the same as that piece of property will have depreciated. This should effectively remedy your complaint; if not, use can be made of the complaints and escalation procedure below.

Another way in which your lost or stolen items can be undervalued is if your cover is inadequate. Home insurance policies will have a maximum payout available for any single item, and for many expensive items (e.g. jewellery, art or curios) the item will not be insured unless it is separately listed upon the policy. In order to avoid being caught by this you should familiarise yourself with the cap on your policy and the terms and conditions of your policy and ensure that any items which need to be listed separately are.

In the event that you believe that you have been treated unfairly or misled then you should contact your insurer to ask why your payout has been limited, as you have the right to appeal. resolver recommends that you submit your concern in writing, and resolver can assist you in submitting, recording and reminding you when and who to escalate to. You should retain a copy of the letter, and send all correspondence by recorded mail. Details of how to make a formal appeal will be found on your policy documents, or on your insurer's website. Otherwise, a last resort is to contact the Ombudsman, which will act as a mediator in your case. resolver recommends that you submit your concern in writing and resolver can assist you in submitting, recording and reminding you when and who to escalate to.

If you can't resolve your issue within 8 weeks of making your complaint (or if you've received a 'deadlock letter' or final decision from the company), you can escalate your case to the Ombudsman.

Your complaint must be under 6 months old to be escalated to the Ombudsman.

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