One Property Insured Twice

[Malang]

Hi,
I phoned up my insurance company with regards to my landlords insurance with whom I have a few insurances for b2l properties.
To my surprise I was told that 1 of the properties had 2 insurances (one started in May and the other in August) and that another property was not insured.
I was quite worried about this as I had a property without insurance and one with 2 (which I presume would invalidate the insurance)
I was unsure why this was as I had specifically asked then to insure each property, anyways to cut this short they listened to our telephone conversation at the time I had setup the insurance and they agreed they had made a mistake and instead of insuring two separate properties they had infact insured one twice.
All has been rectified now but my question is can I ask for a refund on the extra insurance I paid?

[bandontherun]

If it is your case that the insurance company was asked to insure each building rather than twice on one and not at all on the other it would seem disingenuous to ask for a refund which defeats your argument. You want cover to be backdated to the beginning of the period so that if a claim does turn up cover can be said to have been continuous. Continuous cover is particularly important in relation to movement claims. It would in my view be short sighted to request the premium back

[ram]

my question is,
can I ask for a refund on the extra insurance I paid?

I would say yes.

I am assuming 3 properties here.
Lets assume £ 100 per year each property.

You asked them to insure 3 properties,
you paid £ 300 for 3 properties.
But only 2 were insured, yet you paid for 3.

You need a refund for the property you paid for to be insured,
thatthe insurance took £ 100 from you, but failed to insure.
(That is fraud.)

Not your problem that they made a mistake, and their problem
that they took money from you to insure a building, then failed
to insure that building.

R.a.M.

[ashburnham]

Both of the above replies are correct in their own right. The answer all depends on firstly what the broker is able to do and then what you want to do.

The best option, if the broker is able to do this, is to have them amend the incorrect twice insured property to the correct currently uninsured property from the original inception date (and obviously provide documentary proof of this with the correct dates). This then means you have got exactly the cover you have asked and paid for and also not having any lapse in cover which could affect a historic claim such as subsidence.

The broker has proof (your recorded call) so should be able to speak to the insurer in question to explain the situation and have this sorted for you. This obviously depends on the broker's relationship with the insurer and will certainly test their capabilities.

The alternative option may be all the broker is able to do and that is to start cover from the current date. If it has to be a new policy then you will be entitled to a full refund from the incorrect policy set up but will obviously be expected to pay for a new annual premium from the current date. They may make an amendment on the existing policy which means that you would only be entitled to refund of the premium up to the amendment date but obviously the rest of the year is already paid.

If you have any concerns about your cover (or historic cover) then ask to speak to one of their managers or directors. The main thing is to get it covered now before anything happens and then look at whether you have been left out of pocket or historically uninsured and consider making a complaint if you are not satisfied with how the matter has been resolved.

[Malang]

Thank you for your replies and advice.
Just to clarify there are only 2 properties here in question (1 that was insured twice and one that wasn't insured at all)
I did ask the insurers the question about the uninsured property and if a claim needed to be made, she said that they are also insured and even though it was their mistake for not insuring it, it would still be covered.
Thinking about it now, and for the sake of a hundred quid or so, I don't think it's worth even asking for any refunds.

I'm very greatful for your input guys.
Tnx