Coast Insurance decline any refund to policy holders.
Today, I sent Coast Insurers the following message;
Due to the Corona virus, we, like everyone else in the U.K. were unable to use our touring caravan, in fact, we were only used it to holiday in August.
Our car insurers ‘Direct Line’ have already refunded two payments because of the non use of our vehicle.
I understand that insurance is needed for storage, but your claims have got to be greatly reduced and your customers would welcome any refund during these very stressful times, especially where income has literally been non existing to many.
Would you consider a refund due to loss of use?
Sadly, this was their immediate reply;
Good afternoon,
Many thanks for your recent enquiry regarding loss of use of your touring caravan.
In respect to your query, I can see you are understandably concerned regarding the current restrictions and the opening of the parks.
We are experiencing a growing number of questions linked to the COVID-19 outbreak and we, like many others, are doing what we can to support any queries from our customers in these uncertain times.
Your touring caravan policy is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Ltd and like all insurance products, is subject to terms and conditions as set out by the relevant underwriters. I have attached a PDF document of your policy booklet, supplied upon policy inception, to this email for ease of reference.
On page 8 under “Section C – Loss of Use and Hiring Charges” you will note it states the following;
If the caravan is rendered uninhabitable by loss or damage for which a claim is payable under section A, we will pay; a) the necessary cost incurred for alternative accommodation, or the hire of a similar caravan but only if the loss or damage occurs after holiday arrangements have been made or while the caravan is being used for holiday purposes, or b) for the loss of hiring charges for bookings accepted prior to the loss or damage but only if a record has been maintained of all hiring, agreed hiring charges and deposits paid.
Therefore, in reference to loss of use, the above cover is only applicable if the caravan has suffered loss or damage that is specifically covered under your policy, and the loss/damage renders it uninhabitable.
Unfortunately, as the caravan would not be physically damaged or have suffered a loss, liability for cover for the loss of the use of the caravan would not engage and we would not be able to consider a claim.
In respect to return/refund of premium, unfortunately we are unable to consider this as cover is still in place as usual, and we have not placed any restrictions on cover following the Coronavirus outbreak. We have not introduced any policies which would penalise customers in the event of a claim, due to inability to use or inspect the caravan as often as they normally could.
There have been instances in which certain perils, such as theft and vandalism, have become more prevalent during the lockdown period and has therefore not led to a decrease in claims. Our claims team and loss adjusters have been operating normally throughout the year and all our services are still in place during our usual opening hours.
I hope the above has answered your query, and I do apologise we cannot be of any further assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any additional queries on 01892 786099, or via return of email.
Kind regards
My response was;
Thank you for your very quick reply, in what I would say, was a very thorough explanation of the existing policy I have. It very much sounds to me that I am not the first customer to ask this question and that you had an already explanation to decline any thoughts of a refund.
However, regardless of your explanation about staff working throughout the pandemic and claims being high from theft etc. I still believe that claims from accidents, damages or other has had a great reduction from policy holders which has allowed your company to benefit from this years income.
I, for one, will take this on board at my renewal date and deal with a company such as ‘Direct Line’ who have volunteered to offer refunds on two occasions due to government restrictions and without the need for me to request it.
Regards
November 5, 2020
Unprompted review