Insurance and Garda Criminal Reference

donutheadhomer · 16-12-2007 2:49pm #1

I made a Household Insurance Claim in the Summer of 2007 and the Insurance Company are insisting that I supply them with a statement from the gardai to say that nobody in the house has a criminal conviction for arson, theff or deception.
Are they allowed to do this? This surely is wrong as don't I have a presumption of innocence? Also does this breech the uttmost good faith condition of insurance. ie they should believe me unless they have good reason not to do so.

Turner · 16-12-2007 4:33pm

If they want to investigate if you or members of your family are criminals let them do the hard work.

I certainly wouldnt be doing the work for them.

johnnyskeleton · 16-12-2007 7:50pm

The utmost good faith principle works the other way - you must disclose everything which may be material to their assessment of your insurance risk. It doesn't mean that they must trust you unless they can prove to the contrary.

They can certainly ask for it, but whether you are obliged to give it to them or not really depends on the terms of the original policy

ian_m · 16-12-2007 8:00pm

What happened that you are making a claim. if you don't mind me asking? There might be a reason they feel they have to ask for more information. You know the society we live in now. They have to ask things because of the amount of chancers around.

Our man in Havana · 16-12-2007 8:17pm

Sounds like the insurance company are trying to weasel out of paying the claim. Quelle Surprise. As stated earlier let them do any legwork required.

I see most house insurance companies will not cover any property where a resident has convictions for fraud, arson and theft offences. I would see it as the insurance companies job to prove it a person resident had convictions. I am sure they have private investigators to find these things out.

Victor · 16-12-2007 9:40pm

I was under the impression that the Garda don't issue such references.

donutheadhomer · 17-12-2007 8:56am

Victor wrote: »

I was under the impression that the Garda don't issue such references.

Indeed thats what the local gardai told me too.
Our house was broken into while we were on holiday during the summer and we estimate the loss to be nearly €20000 in contents stolen. The house was ransacked eventhough it was well secured when we went away. We were only away 2 weeks and the policy says it can be unoccupied for up to 30 days.
This has gone on nearly 6 months now without 1 penny being paid out.
They are requesting receipts for the items stolen but most of the items were not the type of things one keeps receipts for. ie dvd films and games. What receipts I had were in a box with some cash under the bed and needless to say this was taken too.
I've made a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman and he asked me to request a Final Response from the insurance provider (Quinn) with 25 working days but they made no reply........ typical

BTW. Nobody in my house has a criminal record , not as much as a speeding ticket. My wife is a student nurse and I work in IT Support. I just can't see why they won't pay up.

Our man in Havana · 17-12-2007 10:38am

Did they say they would pay up if your produced this mythical letter? This is typical of Quinn who will use any means possible to avoid paying. €20k is a large claim in fairness and it would make a dent in someone's stats for the year. As said before let them research your garda records. There is a presumption of innocence. Have they made any comment to you about your background?

donutheadhomer · 17-12-2007 12:19pm

Bond-007 wrote: »

Did they say they would pay up if your produced this mythical letter? This is typical of Quinn who will use any means possible to avoid paying. €20k is a large claim in fairness and it would make a dent in someone's stats for the year. As said before let them research your garda records. There is a presumption of innocence. Have they made any comment to you about your background?

No comments have been made by them at all. They have made no comments that they would pay at all. In fact I never seem to be able to get in contact with them via phone, always in a meeting. I'm hoping the ombudsman will resolve this on my behalf.
What powers does he have anyway? He has written to them to get a Final Response but they are delaying

Our man in Havana · 17-12-2007 2:49pm

When did this request for a garda reference come?

donutheadhomer · 17-12-2007 3:55pm

Bond-007 wrote: »

When did this request for a garda reference come?

In September maybe. About 4 months after the initial burglary. I just ignored it TBH but they never made any contact again. The local gardai said they do not supply such references.
Is the Financial Services Ombudsman any good? What are his powers?
What do I do?

johnnyskeleton · 17-12-2007 10:10pm

EurasianBadger wrote: »

What do I do?

Consult a solicitor? Sue them?

Just a suggestion, but you're not exactly talking about pocket change here.

dK1NG · 18-12-2007 9:23am

Bond-007 wrote: »

Did they say they would pay up if your produced this mythical letter? This is typical of Quinn who will use any means possible to avoid paying. €20k is a large claim in fairness and it would make a dent in someone's stats for the year. As said before let them research your garda records. There is a presumption of innocence. Have they made any comment to you about your background?

Just out of curiousity, how is the presumption of innocence of relevance here

Our man in Havana · 18-12-2007 10:11am

The insurnace co are saying to the OP "give us proof you are not a criminal". From that it is fair to say the insurance co have some reason to think the OP is less than kosher.

dK1NG · 18-12-2007 12:41pm

Still dont see the link tbh.

I understand where you're coming from, but how is the p.o.i applicable in a non-criminal matter?

donutheadhomer · 18-12-2007 2:57pm

dK1NG wrote: »

Still dont see the link tbh.

I understand where you're coming from, but how is the p.o.i applicable in a non-criminal matter?

As far as I'm aware it would be a crime to make a false insurance claim and that is what they are assuming I've done

Our man in Havana · 18-12-2007 7:08pm

I am of the opinion that they think your claim is fishy, hence they want to see if you have form. I am assuming due to the fact the claim is for €20k they automatically assume it is fishy and it is up to you to convince them otherwise.

The only other thing I can think of is that you write to the Gardaí and ask for a statement of whether there are convictions/no convictions against you. Cost is €6.35. I wonder is this what they want? I remember getting one before when I applied for a civil service job. But then again why should you have to do their dirty work at your expense?

Insurance and Garda Criminal Reference

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