Contents Insurance

dave1982

So I recently took out a new house insurance.I got the T&C's in the post.I was surprised at the amount of exclusions for making a claim.I was wondering what is covered in the house as my neighbour's couch was damaged by their pet but the Insurance refused to pay out.

Accidental damage
We will cover accidental damage caused by
something external to the buildings, or to the
contents while in your home, but not including
the following.
1 Anything which happens gradually.
2 Chewing, scratching, tearing, or fouling, by
pets.
3 When any part of the buildings is used
by tenants or paying guests, or if there is
business or professional use, in that part of
the buildings which the public have access
to.
4 For faulty workmanship or faulty design.
5 Electrical or mechanical breakdown.
6 Maintenance, or routine repair or
decoration.
7 When your home is unoccupied for more
than 60 days in any period of insurance.
8 Wear and tear, atmospheric or weather
conditions, wet or dry rot, fungus, mildew,
insects, vermin, denting, scratching, action
of light, any process of cleaning, defrosting,
dyeing or restoration.
9 Jewellery, watches, furs, contact lenses,
hearing aids, mobile phones or computer
equipment, which is designed to be portable
while it is being transported, carried or
moved.

One's that stood out to me is the

(1) Pet damage

(2) painting and decorating.If you're painting your room and the paint accidently falls off ladder on to couch or carpet, you're not covered?

(3) Faulty workmanship if you got someone out to wall mount your TV onto the wall and it falls off you're not covered?

(4) dropping a laptop again you're not covered?

(5) Weather conditions so falling slates damaging you're property again not covered.

To me all these things are accidents but they say its not

Sorry about the rant but just curious whats the point of content insurance unless you're house burn's down

the_syco

dave1982 wrote: »

Jewellery

This is surprising, as it's mainly the reason why people get contents insurance. Did you get the cheapest content insurance, and if so, what was the difference between the one that covers jewellery, and the one that you're quoting?

dave1982 wrote: »

(4) dropping a laptop again you're not covered?

Not very surprised, as this is seen as a way to get a new laptop every year.

dave1982 wrote: »

(5) Weather conditions so falling slates damaging you're property again not covered.

Weather conditions to me would be trying to not cover flood damage.

dave1982

http://www.ulsterbank.ie/documents/ROI/Home-Insurance-Policy-Document.pdf


Standard policy document downloaded from website.


€43 a month insurance

LostArt

dave1982 wrote: »

So I recently took out a new house insurance.I got the T&C's in the post.I was surprised at the amount of exclusions for making a claim.I was wondering what is covered in the house as my neighbour's couch was damaged by their pet but the Insurance refused to pay out.



One's that stood out to me is the

(1) Pet damage

(2) painting and decorating.If you're painting your room and the paint accidently falls off ladder on to couch or carpet, you're not covered?

(3) Faulty workmanship if you got someone out to wall mount your TV onto the wall and it falls off you're not covered?

(4) dropping a laptop again you're not covered?

(5) Weather conditions so falling slates damaging you're property again not covered.

To me all these things are accidents but they say its not

Sorry about the rant but just curious whats the point of content insurance unless you're house burn's down

3, 4 & 5 are covered. Jewellery is also covered.
Your interpretation of the policy wording isn't correct.

kkelliher

the wordings differ from policy to policy and the list that is included in yours would be greater than the average.

dave1982 wrote: »

(1) Pet damage

pets damaging contents is not accidental its guaranteed therefore not covered. You can get insurance through furniture companies for this but under the standard household policy its excluded


(

2) painting and decorating.If you're painting your room and the paint accidently falls off ladder on to couch or carpet, you're not covered?

It would appear that this is not covered by your wording but this is generally covered by most companies policy conditions. The only thing that is generally not covered is if your are repairing or redecorating the particular item of contents at the time of damage then any damage would not be classed as accidental eg damage to curtains during cleaning,damage to carpets during cleaning etc etc

(3) Faulty workmanship if you got someone out to wall mount your TV onto the wall and it falls off you're not covered?

generally not covered as the liability wouldlie with the person who mounted the TV incorrectly and their insurance. If there is an insurance policy better placed to deal with the issue then it will never be covered. A trademans public liability insurance would cover this issue.

(4) dropping a laptop again you're not covered?

the only part that is not covered is damage "whilst it is been transported, carried or moved" as it would be seen as a possibility that it can be damaged during this operation therefore not accidental

(5) Weather conditions so falling slates damaging you're property again not covered.

this is covered by the general conditions under storm and therefore it is not covered under accidental damage. Falling slates are building items in any event and would not be covered under contents.

as clearly weather conditions would damage an item of contents it could not be classed as accidental if they were damage

dave1982

Thanks for such a detailed reply, regarding the decorating section.So if I did spill paint for instance on the carpet/couch I would be covered?

Did I misread the policy?


Once again thanks

cookie1977

To be honest I'd only claim on my insurance in the event of a disaster (house burning down etc...) as you'll only pay for it with the loss of your no claims bonus (or you may not be able to claim depending on the size of your excess) since most of what you've queried is fairly low cost in my mind.

kkelliher

cookie1977 wrote: »

To be honest I'd only claim on my insurance in the event of a disaster (house burning down etc...) as you'll only pay for it with the loss of your no claims bonus (or you may not be able to claim depending on the size of your excess) since most of what you've queried is fairly low cost in my mind.

i would agree fully with this, paint on carpet apart which may generally be worth claiming for depending on extent of room and type of carpet. It should be noted however that generally only the damaged area will be covered so if the same carpet is throughout your house, you would only have cover to replace the room which is damaged.

kkelliher

dave1982 wrote: »

Thanks for such a detailed reply, regarding the decorating section.So if I did spill paint for instance on the carpet/couch I would be covered?

Did I misread the policy?


Once again thanks

from the wording on your specific policy it looks like it is not covered. I know that the wording below is not contained in every insurance policy so i cant confirm. It would hoever seem an odd exclusion given that alot of accidents will occur during maintenance (eg changing a light bulb you might cause damage to contents if you fell), routine repairs or decoration.

6 Maintenance, or routine repair or decoration.

the only other interrpertation of the wording that I could see would be that accidental damage that occurs during the maintenance, routine repair or redecoration of the item of contents is excluded but you shoud really check with your actual insurer