Case Study

Common sense approach to claims settlement

Mr Jackson advised us of a potential claim. His friend in Portugal (who checks

his apartment regularly), had found there to be severe rust on all chrome/metal parts in his bathroom. When the insured last visited he left some Chlorine tablets in the cistern/pan for hygiene reasons, which subsequently gave off fumes causing this damage. A standard exclusion on policies is damage caused by gradual operating cause. Therefore using strict interpretation of the policy cover the damage of £1000 was not covered.

The insurance company used a common sense approach and although rust is excluded, they interpreted the cause to be an identifiable cause (one off) and date of cause known ( Feb 09 when insured was last visited). The insurer agreed for the insured to have the work done at cost of £837 immediately and to submit further costs for the shower screen to be replaced as it also had a chrome surround

Claim settled in full