Reply to: WTF is the point of insurance?

[Gibbon]

The best way to look at insurance is the same way you look a bookie. There is very little difference.

[lilelvis2000]

Parents had am similar problem and included the electrics. Cables were stretched over the attic diagonally, no tacking, no end loops earth missing etc. Obviously from a no qualified electrician, The building inspector has passed it as OK. It would have cost about £10k (25 years ago) to litigate. The answer was to move house. I have never bought new, I like WYSIWYG.

I find it amazing that if I sell a car with the problems I can get done..but with a house..nope its buyer beware. Amazing!

[lilelvis2000]

Since you registered the issue during the warranty period then the builder can't just ignore it, you've got a clear case of going to law over it. Get some proper advice, perhaps your insurance companies legal department will be of assistance.

My insurance company will simply reply with "nowt to do with us". In a perfect world your advice makes sense. but not in a world where council's have been bought out by commercial property developers...where developers are advising councils on low income housing. Its a farce.

[Paddy]

Has anyone been able to make a claim on the new house "warrenty". I tried and after two years of being fobbed off the builder just told us that the period had expired now and to claim against insurance.

The problem? Shoddy morter which now means about half my house needs repointing. And its only 12 years old. Not to mention the shoddy work on the roof, and the gutters and more.

What a crock!


The current system really does suck. But...considering that a lot of the insurance companies are owned by banks...I don't expect anything to change. Unless...someone were to set up a insurance union?

Parents had am similar problem and included the electrics. Cables were stretched over the attic diagonally, no tacking, no end loops earth missing etc. Obviously from a no qualified electrician, The building inspector has passed it as OK. It would have cost about £10k (25 years ago) to litigate. The answer was to move house. I have never bought new, I like WYSIWYG.

[xoggoth]

Yeh. They'll pass it to a firm of solicitors who will pass it to their most junior trainee who will pass it to the cat and you won't hear anything for 3 months until you start pestering it and then you'll find out your claim isn't covered for some reason.

[TykeMerc]

Has anyone been able to make a claim on the new house "warrenty". I tried and after two years of being fobbed off the builder just told us that the period had expired now and to claim against insurance.

Since you registered the issue during the warranty period then the builder can't just ignore it, you've got a clear case of going to law over it. Get some proper advice, perhaps your insurance companies legal department will be of assistance.

[lilelvis2000]

Has anyone been able to make a claim on the new house "warrenty". I tried and after two years of being fobbed off the builder just told us that the period had expired now and to claim against insurance.

The problem? Shoddy morter which now means about half my house needs repointing. And its only 12 years old. Not to mention the shoddy work on the roof, and the gutters and more.

What a crock!


The current system really does suck. But...considering that a lot of the insurance companies are owned by banks...I don't expect anything to change. Unless...someone were to set up a insurance union?

[Paddy]

Yes, but it'll make it *much* more expensive for everyone else.

They can still charge on number of years of driving experience and NCBs

[Freamon]

Quite absurd. Still, it should make health insurance for oldies cheaper or won't it work like that? Probably not.

Yes, but it'll make it *much* more expensive for everyone else.

[xoggoth]

insurers will no longer be able to make risk ratings based on your age/sex. This is likely to make car insurance significantly more expensive for anyone who isn't a young male

Quite absurd. Still, it should make health insurance for oldies cheaper or won't it work like that? Probably not.

[Freamon]

Most insurers in the UK don't make money on the insurance they sell. Car insurers typically lose money on their book of business. They make their money on the "extras" (legal cover, hire car cover, stretching the premium out over 12 monthly payments and charging a huge APR of interest, etc).

So you can assume the reason car insurance is so expensive and seemingly useless isn't because insurers are making loads of money at your expense.

In fact, the reason it's so expensive is because insurers pay out so much in claims. They are currently paying out far more in claims than their actuaries had forecasted (due to "crash for cash" and other such things), so much so that actuaries are having to rewrite their models.

There are potentially a number of reasons for this. Personal injury claims make up a significant amount of payouts these days, but I think the reason is that the incentives of the medical examiners are all skewed, if they can convince the insurers to pay out more in personal injury claims, they know at least some of that money will come back to them in treatment. Similarly legal fees make up quite a bit of claims, because lawyers are so expensive. You could, of course, blame the insurers for paying out so much to these people in the past, and that's probably fair.

This problem is only going to get worse. EU legislation on age/sex discrimination is currently being brought into in English law, such that insurers will no longer be able to make risk ratings based on your age/sex. This is likely to make car insurance significantly more expensive for anyone who isn't a young male.

[Clever Hans]

Mortgage Insurance that doesn't pay out if people get redundancy.

Mine did. Unfortunately it became a bit of an albatross as it is tied to JSA, and I was reluctant to apply for roles unless I was absolutely sure about them due to losing the money if the job/contract didn't work out, or if I turned it down after interview.

But the insurance company were absolutely fine, no complaints from me.

Mind you, they went out of business.

[norrahe]

You do have to read your T&Cs, I suppose I do it having worked in underwriting years ago so know about the tricks they will pull regarding clauses and restrictions in your policy.

Travel insurance is a right b*gger though, I damaged a camera in China years ago and they would only pay the claim if I had proof of original purchase, which I didn't recall reading the the T&Cs.

[Paddy]

There are important differences in the legal meaning of words such as

Should verses Must verses Shall.

Eg “Should take due care” is not the same as “Must take due care” or "Shall take due care"

[AtW]

There are two good reasons to get insurance:

1) to comply with regulation (ie 3rd party car insurance)
2) peace of mind (which is of course an illusion)

HTH