Insurance sage sorted

Mar 14 2010 by Ian Robson, Sunday Sun

AN insurance wrangle has been resolved for reader Andrea Campbell after she asked for my help.

Andrea had been left with the prospect of having no buildings insurance after inheriting her grandfather’s house.

It had been insured with Saga – who specialise in the over-50s.

Bosses told Andrea they would not be able to continue providing cover for the property because she was too young at 39.

And she could not go elsewhere because there was an outstanding claim.

Even Aviva, who underwrote the original policy, were unable to help at first. But they changed their minds after I asked for a comment on Andrea’s complaint.

Andrea told me how the saga started when her grandfather Frederick Campbell passed away.

She said: “I inherited the house and it was transferred to my sole name.

“I told Saga that I was now the owner of the property and they advised me I had 10 days to secure alternative insurance.

“There was an outstanding claim on the policy because my grandfather’s neighbour made a complaint about lack of drainage.

“He said water had damaged the party wall and it needed to be knocked down and replaced.”

The issue was still unresolved when Frederick, 86, died.

Andrea said: “No one will insure me. I had contacted numerous companies and no one can offer cover because there is an outstanding claim.

“Local brokers and financial advisers have also been unsuccessful.

“At one point I was advised that the previous insurer is obliged to continue cover when this happens.

“But Saga still refused to cover me because I am under 50. They advised me to contact the underwriter, Aviva, but they said they could not provide a quote either.”

Andrea sought advice from the Financial Services Authority who started investigating.

In the meantime I contacted Saga and Aviva myself.

A spokesman for Saga said: “The reason that we could not continue to insure the property is that the new owner is not 50 or over.

“We would have expected Aviva to take it on automatically.”

What did Aviva have to say?

A spokeswoman for the company said: “We are sorry for the problems Ms Campbell encountered.

“It is often difficult for providers to take on a new customer if there is an outstanding claim.

“In general insurers need to understand the type of risk they are quoting for and this is difficult if a claim is ongoing.

“However, in this particular case the original Saga policy her grandfather had was underwritten by Aviva.

“Aviva no longer underwrites policies for Saga. However, as we are already dealing with the claim we have now given Ms Campbell a quote for insurance. We made the offer last week and are waiting to hear back.”

Andrea, of Low Fell, Gateshead, was offered cover for a premium of £300. She has accepted the offer and just last week moved into her grandfather’s house.