Last year we bought our home contents insurance policy through the comparison firm ComparetheMarket. We spent a long time inputting all of our details and after finding the policy we were happy with, paid the money to the chosen insurer, Esure.
Recently, our garage was broken into and our bikes were stolen. We called up Esure expecting to make a claim and it informed us that they were not covered as they had not been specified on the policy. It seems between retrieving the quote and buying the policy somehow the bike (and all our valuables worth £1,000) disappeared.
While we should have better checked the documents, we feel somewhat let down by ComparetheMarket.
The company has told us that the details were on the quote sent to Esure, but that it’s our responsibility to check on receiving the documents.
Each firm is blaming the other, leaving us with a big loss.
KH, Bristol
What is it about Bristol and bike thefts? I’m told that it is a major problem in the city.
This is also not the first time I have heard of this happening, and I have first hand experience of comparison sites struggling to pass on the details when a customer wants to add bikes to a policy. The lesson is to always check an insurance document when it arrives.
However, it was reasonable to expect the Meerkat to have passed on the details you inputted. After all, it would have pocketed a substantial commission for, in effect, selling you the policy.
After a great deal of toing and froing – frankly rather too much given that your claim was for £550 – the two companies have finally agreed to pay up.
Esure has also agreed to refund you the admin fee it later charged to add the valuable items to the policy which should have been there in the first place.
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