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Insurance Application


https://forum.unlock.org.uk/Topic6987.aspx

By BT - 3 Sep 12 10:08 PM

Ok, this is something of a hypothetical question because thankfully it doesn't quite affect me, but would do if I were to make an effort regarding the insurance of the property I'm in & the management of the flats. And looks like yet again, I have to make up some excuses to not get involved & help people.

The first question is fine as asks if any proposer, director etc has convictions or criminal offences which are not spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act - I could answer 'no' to this one. But the next question asks if the proposer has ever been refused or had an insurance cancelled. This did happen to me with small insurance policy as the company refused to insure me any more when i had an unspent conviction, so it was cancelled & I'll never use them again & will use the insurers who did still insure me.

So, bearing in mind I don't have to tell them of an unspent conviction directly, that seems to be contradicted by the fact that they would of course want to know why I was refused. Which in turn would mean other people in the management of the properties finding out & really it seems to defeat the whole point of a conviction being spent.

Any thoughts?
By Deb S - 16 Sep 11 1:36 PM

Hi BT

If your existing insurance company are unable to insure you because they don't have a product that they can offer then your policy may be cancelled. However, this is not the same as having insurance cancelled because you have failed to disclose a conviction or an insurance company have found out something about you that you have not previously told them but which would have affected your ability to get insurance had they known about it. Strictly speaking therefore, your insurance has only ceased because the insurance company dont have anything to sell you.

Hope this answers your question - there is more information about this on our Detailed Insurance Guide - https://hub.unlock.org.uk/knowledgebase/insurance-convictions-detailed-guide/

Best wishes


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By BT - 3 Sep 12 10:08 PM

Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify though, I had separate house & car insurance, & also some valuable collectibles which weren't covered under the household insurance due to value. I notified all 3 insurers of my conviction, & slightly bizarrely the house & car insurance companies weren't bothered at all, whereas the insurer of the other (small) policy said they couldn't insure me any more & cancelled the policy.

So now, if I want to make an effort with the management of the flats, I don't wish to have to disclose to the other leaseholders that I had insurance refused, but equally importantly is should a claim be made for all of them, that the company refuse to pay out because they discover that I had insurance cancelled years ago. At the moment it's not an issue because I'm not named in the management of them, but in many ways it would make no sense to the others why I'd refuse to join the management.

Thanks
By AT - 4 Sep 11 6:51 AM

BT Do not worry about it. The cancelling of insurance is different than when insurer is unable to cover due to criteria falling outside their underwriting guielines.

Has the insurer issued the letter that they will be cancelling the insurance due to your non disclosure, which I believe they have not in this case. So you are fine.

Insurers do have database for people claiming and then being found out that they did not disclose their convictions etc. however they do not have a record as such of policies being cancelled if they do not fit the 'bill'.

Hope it helps


But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail.
AT

By BT - 3 Sep 12 10:08 PM

Thank you AT - I thought that's what Debs meant but wasn't 100% certain. And yes, the insurance was only cancelled because I informed them of a conviction, not non-disclosure, so it was more the case that they decided they could no longer insure me.