A myriad of excuses not to pay. Avoid this insurance
1
I took out my home insurance through the Post Office initially as I have a certain respect for and trust in the Post Office as a company with a decent customer service record, but I believe they have subcontracted their insurance out to Ageas recently.
At some stage in the summer heavy rain seems to have entered the first floor of our house, possibly driven by strong winds through some vertically hung tiles but I'm not sure. The roof and tiles have been fine for 30 years with no problem, and there is no sign of wear.
I took a few photos and sent them in with my claim. BIG MISTAKE. NEVER DO THIS. The claims guy immediately spotted a little moss on the roof and claimed it was all down to bad maintenance. Or bad design. Or wear and tear. Or the failure of an individual part. In fact they only pay out for weather damage if winds of over 55mph are involved. (Even inside the house???) And they see no evidence of severe weather during this period. They
use a national weather site for their meteorological data which has very limited local coverage, and my house is in a very exposed location on top of the North Downs.
I insisted on an insurance assessor. They sent a supposedly independent assessor who was sympathetic with us and agreed verbally that poor maintenance wasn't to blame. But the report he gave to Ageas (which they have never shown us) apparently says different.
Several phone calls later - minimum wait time 28 minutes on their chargeable phone line - and they have promised to send a full report and a formal complaints form. 12 days later I'm still waiting so I'm back on the pay-phone line, 35 minutes and waiting....
Finally got through. "We've made our final decision. Your complaint is being processed. This can take up to 8 weeks and then you can approach the ombudsman."
Terrible, terrible insurance company. AVOID!!!
Reviewed on: 7th December 2021
