Insist that it gets treated as one claim (if possible). Lots of firms now break down claims into valuables, travel costs, medical etc & then charge you an excess on each claim even though they're all related to the same incident.
Whatever happens, don't take their first offer (unless it's the right amount or you're desperate for cash). If the claim gets rejected, appeal it. if that fails, appeal again and ask for a "final response". Once you've got this you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It'll take a while, but it's free.
They won't uphold your claim just because it's the man in the street against the big bad insurer - there have to be merits to the claim. They will rule on the facts of the case based on what's fair & reasonable. Even if they dismiss your claim, you'll have the (very!) small gratification that the insurer will be charged a case handling fee no matter what happens! (last i heard it was £450)
I actually went through all this & got an FOS decision in my favour because I proved the wording on the policy exclusions was unfair (FOS decisions are legally binding on the firm).
I should admit that I used to work for the FOS, but this was all after I left.
The word to remember when completing claims forms is "reasonable" eg. I took all reasonable precautions to protect my valuables by doing x,y,z.
Who did you go with and why didn't you take an excess waiver they only cost a fiver? If you want good insurance you have to pay for it!
By the way I work in travel insurance for one of the most prestigious companies in the world and would say if your policy states an excess per section then the Financial Ombudsman will stand by the insurer the case handling fee is £300.00.
If you tell me the full circumstances (in a private message) of the claim I'll let you know if I think you are covered. I also need to know what items were stolen and all the excesses and limits as per the policy terms and conditions.
Comments
Whatever happens, don't take their first offer (unless it's the right amount or you're desperate for cash). If the claim gets rejected, appeal it. if that fails, appeal again and ask for a "final response". Once you've got this you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It'll take a while, but it's free.
They won't uphold your claim just because it's the man in the street against the big bad insurer - there have to be merits to the claim. They will rule on the facts of the case based on what's fair & reasonable. Even if they dismiss your claim, you'll have the (very!) small gratification that the insurer will be charged a case handling fee no matter what happens! (last i heard it was £450)
I actually went through all this & got an FOS decision in my favour because I proved the wording on the policy exclusions was unfair (FOS decisions are legally binding on the firm).
I should admit that I used to work for the FOS, but this was all after I left.
The word to remember when completing claims forms is "reasonable" eg. I took all reasonable precautions to protect my valuables by doing x,y,z.
By the way I work in travel insurance for one of the most prestigious companies in the world and would say if your policy states an excess per section then the Financial Ombudsman will stand by the insurer the case handling fee is £300.00.
If you tell me the full circumstances (in a private message) of the claim I'll let you know if I think you are covered. I also need to know what items were stolen and all the excesses and limits as per the policy terms and conditions.
Unfortunately Holiday insurance is pretty shit when it comes to stuff being nicked. We probably got about 10% back in the end from the insurance.