Home insurance Policy - Policies

The home insurance policy wording

Under the code of practice of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), insurers are required to bring to the attention of policyholders some important features of your policy wording.

Your home insurance policy wording should contain full details of the insurance cover that is provided, including the exclusions and the conditions applied to it. You should take the time to read this carefully.

The most important reason for you to read your insurance policy is to make sure that it meets your requirements fully. If not, you should return it to the agent who issued it to you within a fortnight of the date it was issued. Assuming no claim has been made, your premiums will be fully refunded. This is known as the "cooling-off period".

You should definitely read the exclusions very carefully, because when it is time to claim, it is too late to be able to do anything about not being covered as fully as you thought you were.

Look out for exclusions related to date changes. This may not have been taken out of home insurance policies yet, but some of them will still have millennium bug related exclusions, where you're not insured for the consequences if your PC or any electrical appliances have problems related to an ability to process or recognize a date as the true calendar date.

Then you should look for whether your contents will be replaced on a "new for old" basis or on a replacement cost basis or even indemnity cost basis. This is a good way of comparing home insurance policies.

Look out for insurance policy limits on the amounts that will be paid out on a claim or on any one item. Sometimes the limit on one claim could be less than the sum assured and the maximum sum on one item may not cover some of your items.
Your policy wording should make it clear how much excess your claims under the policy will be subject to. You would be responsible for paying that portion of any claim.

It will also mention the need for you to make sure you take reasonable care with your property in order to still be eligible for insurance. It may also say that you should not "act as though you are not insured". Some people act more rashly under the confidence of being insured, and companies want to discourage this.

The complaints procedure for the insurance company must be outlined, making clear the steps you can take under a complaint. You should be given numbers you can call and addresses to write to.
Finally, check which law is applicable for the policy. The contract will normally be English Law, but under EU law it can be under a different law if both parties agree.

The home insurance policy wording

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Contents Insurance

Insurance & Loans

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The home insurance policy wording

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Contents Insurance

Insurance & Loans

Copyright