Westfield Insurance - things not included

[B.RAD]

We've just had a scare when our neighbour burned down his wooden garage, which is adjacent to our house. The loss adjuster was very helpful and spent some time talking us through all the intricacies of our home insurance and what it does/does not cover and interestingly, it doesn't include anything related to the car - including any spares, car covers, wheels and tyres etc, even though they are obviously stored within the home.

So I called my car insurance provider, Adrian Flux, to check what my policy covers and surprisingly, spares are not included on the standard policy. I have just upgraded my policy to include cover for all the various parts I've accumulated over the years, including the spare wheels and tyres etc, but thought it worth highlighting in case anyone else out there hasn't got this (or am I the only numpty??).

Quite a scary thought that all these things that collectively are worth a lot of money weren't previously covered under three 'standard' insurance policies (buildings, contents and car insurance).

[AdamR]

That is interesting. Thanks for the heads up. I really would have thought that sort of stuff would be covered by house contents insurance, given that it is, er, contents of the house...!

 

I wonder what else isn't covered... And how they work out what isn't. And if they can make up similar rules to get out of paying out for other items!

[jmad]

Also, be aware that even if your house insurance will cover some of the items most will have a maximum figure that they will pay out from garage/outbuildings.

 

Our garage got broken into and a few bits taken plus two mountain bikes, that's ok I thought as the mountain bikes had been itemised and put on the insurance separately but no, as they were stolen from the garage they came under the garage limit of £2000. Now if I had left them outside leaning on the outside of the garage I could have £2000 of garage contents plus the bikes, but because they were leaning on the inside of the wall then no. 

[jeff oakley]

Also, be aware that even if your house insurance will cover some of the items most will have a maximum figure that they will pay out from garage/outbuildings.

 

Our garage got broken into and a few bits taken plus two mountain bikes, that's ok I thought as the mountain bikes had been itemised and put on the insurance separately but no, as they were stolen from the garage they came under the garage limit of £2000. Now if I had left them outside leaning on the outside of the garage I could have £2000 of garage contents plus the bikes, but because they were leaning on the inside of the wall then no. 

I would be calling the ombudsman on that one. It is the sort of thing some companies do use to mitigate losses. Sometimes it is the loss adjusters who are being paid to minimise the claim who are to blame, but no sane person could expect for specified items locked in a garage to suddenly be devalued because they are locked securely away.

 

I am with NFU and all my tools are listed in the contents of the house as they are high value engineering tools not hobbyist (although that's what I now am)

[alexander72]

very good point Barney - as with all insurance its cirtical to ask what is excluded rather than what is included :-)

[pistonbroke]

You should always read the small print 

[B.RAD]

You should always read the small print 

Agreed!

Sadly the small print doesn't say what the cover doesn't include beyond basic exclusions, excess etc. For example, the home insurance doesn't say that any spare parts relating to a vehicle, even though stored within the home, are not covered, and the car insurance doesn't state that spare parts relating to the vehicle, stored anywhere, are not covered! Hence the post

[Rab (bombero) Reid]

I wouldn't expect my car insurance to cover spares, etc that are in the garage .. but I do ensure that km garage contents are covered under my home and contents. Always good to include tools etc when itemising under contents insurance ;-)

[Stuart]

Moved to a house with a wooden garage last October, and A-Plan told me me that the underwriter's usual definition of garage doesn't include wooden ones - so my Westfield is kept in a building not a garage.  Just something to bear in mind - if you have a wooden garage and haven't told your car insurer then you might not be insured.

[B.RAD]

Apparently tools are covered under home contents cover (on our policy). Car parts are not.

Good point about the building structure, Adrian Flux did classify a wooden structure as a garage provided it was locked.

[alexander72]

All good points well made.  remember a car policy is a liability policy for risks arising out of activity primarily with the "property" element (including the physical car) being a consequential cover.

 

A home policy is the opposite - Property first and "liability" second.

 

To imagine liability insurance I always think can i take it to hospital?  ie if i crash my car the policy would pay "property" for the car and "liability" to any persons suffering bodily injury....clear as mud?  i'll get my coat....

[jeff oakley]

I have no problem with clearly worded policies that anyone can understand. I would not expect spares for a car to be included under a household policy unless they were specified and agreed by the underwriter.

Tools are covered under a household policy, but they assume tools that are "hobby" tools, so my Snap On tools are professional and would be excluded. Hence my Garage is insured fully for loss of this type of tool, with an inventory to back up should a loss occur. There was only two companies I could find, NFU and Hiscox who would insure fully but at a premium.

Where I have a problem is in the example given with the bikes. High value, specified and yet when they went missing the total value was up to the limit of the garage contents. How can that be fair? It cannot to any sane person, where did they think he would keep them? As he said had they been left in the garden then they were covered, but I bet if he had they would suddenly be uninsured as he had not taken due care.

If any industry needs investigating it is the insurance industry. There are far too many incidents where good people are short changed in the event of a claim due to sharp practice. Have an accident on the first day you drive your new car out of the showroom and write it off and suddenly you are down a few thousand pounds, unless you take out extra gap insurance.

Get run into and suddenly you are a bigger risk even though you are blameless, how does this work?

They need to clam down hard on those who cheat the insurance industry with a stiff neck and write easy to understand clear policies with no hidden trap doors for the unsuspecting to fall through.

Cheapest is not usually the best, but paying high premiums is no guarantee of honesty with insurance companies it would appear.

[alexander72]

as a former insurance underwriter in company markets i would suggest Hiscox as the best personal lines insurer.... very clear wordings and very good claims management (and I have no association with them in any way)