To think I have an insurance policy?

[Alyosha]

I think I am definitely not being unreasonable but sadly my insurance company doesn't seem to agree.

I am currently 8 months pregnant and our house was burgled a few days ago. We have homes & contents insurance and need to claim on the home bit of it as our back doors were completely destroyed.

I have an insurance policy which we got through compare the market, which we actually bought through a broker which turned out to be underwritten by another insurance company.

We rang to claim, were told everything was in progress and we should ring our policy's underwriters.

We did this...to be told there was no record of our policy!! We were referred back to the broker...who referred us back to the underwriter...who referred us back to the broker...who referred us back to the underwriter...

I have an insurance policy, I've paid for it, I've got the documents with the right risk address, policy details etc, but every time I speak to the insurer they say they can't do anything even though I have a policy.

I feel like I'm being driven mad!

Looking into the complaints service I could be waiting up to 8 weeks for a response and then another 8 weeks for resolution through FOS...

If you have your policy documents is there not a claim line to call? Do you pay monthly or in full annually?

That's why I said to make a complaint and ask for their professional indemnity details as from brokers I've worked at (and alongside when I worked direct at an insurer) it suddenly kicked them to get problems sorted and help people get their claim moving.

What have they actually been telling you on the phone? Have aviva been saying that you don't have a policy with them, or just that you need to notify the claim through the broker?

Sorry just re read the OP and it seems that's the case.

If Aviva are categorically stating that you don't have a policy with them, then yes it's the broker that need to resolve it. It could be that the policy info hasn't been transmitted to them, or there's been a fuck up, but that's unlikely seeing as you have the policy document.

Definitely not renewed with another insurer? And it's definitely the policy document you have, not a quote illustration?

They have to respond within 8 weeks, that doesn't mean it will take 8 weeks. Most companies are keen to resolve a complaint ASAP.

Some brokers are authorised representatives so can issue policy documents under their scheme policy number format which they then have to send over to the insurers via a report, then the insurers link the brokers issued policy number to the insurers policy number.

It gets a headache sometimes

If aviva were never told of your policy, there isn't much they can do. Anyone could ring them up and claim to have a policy with them through a broker. It's for the broker to sort out if they have no record of you (unless the broker can prove they have sent your details over and Aviva have lost them). You pay them a commission (will be taken out of your insurance premium) to find a policy for you and transfer the premium etc so legally they need to do this

Saying that it's normally automated and if there is a policy number it is usually auto generated through their systems so it's difficult to see how it could have gone wrong

I'd call the broker again and explain once again Aviva have no record of your policy. Double check the policy number just in case there has been an error. Tell them you will be putting in a formal complaint if it is not sorted asap. At best it's negligence and they could claim on their professional indemnity policy, and at worst it's fraud as they have taken your money and you're not covered even though they have told you you are. Insist on speaking to a senior manager as your query has not been resolved and the people at the call centre will NOT be trained to help with this and not understand the wider implications. What if a batch of these policies went 'missing' and someone's house burned down. Id threaten the ombudsman ans social media as well. Do not get off the phone til they have a solution. Take a managers direct dial since they have not followed through on call backs.

In reality what is likely to happen, if the broker place a lot of business with aviva and have made a genuine error - they will speak to a viva and ask them to backdate inception of your policy as you paid the premium in good faith and all parties thought you were covered so it's clear you were not trying to defraud. If they have a good relationship with aviva they will probably agree to it. This is not something a shop floor employee will be able to do though.

They are heavily regulated so will need to sort this out. Treating customers fairly and ensuring no unreasonable barriers are in place to make a claim are fundamental things the regulators such as FCA push so would be worth throwing these phrases in.

If you get no joy I would ask for proof they ever incepted the policy with aviva then take this to aviva. Or ask them to set up a conference call with you and with a viva so you can all thrash it out together and stop passing the buck. They will say no but they should be able to

Best of luck

Insurance is now under the Fca - tell both the underwriter and the broker in the same email sent to them both jointly that if they do not locate the insurance policy that you have paid for within 3 days then you will go to the FCA

If you've got the front to do it (or a mate with the front to do it), the following has worked for me in the past:

ring the broker AND the insurance company and ask for their press office

when you get through, tell them you're a freelance journalist who specialises in consumer issues

tell them you're investigating a case of Ms X who has paid for and been issued an Aviva policy no xxxxx by Dial Direct and that she has now been told there is no such policy

ask them for their comments

When several of my friends' homes were flooded, and some insurers were behaving like absolute dicks, this got things sorted remarkably quickly (in 45 minutes in one case).

I bloody hate insurance companies. They all love taking your money, but will put endless obstacles in the way when it comes to paying out. Imagine if bookies behaved like that?

To answer the questions, I 100% have a policy, one part of the policy (the home emergency cover) worked very well, the issue is now the other part to actually replace our back doors and side gate.

It is not a representaiton or anything like that, it has the premium we paid and what is covered etc with full Ts & Cs.

The plot has thickened as Aviva tried to ring me this morning (while I was on the tube! Gah!) and sent me a text to say that they think it should be sorted out soon and they will call me again today.

Meanwhile their reps on twitter are saying that I have to ring Direct Dial.

AND Direct Dial rang me this morning to tell me that I need to wait 5 working days or something like that for the claim to be processed from Aviva.

So I have 4 different stories from 2 different companies just today :p.

Let's hope Aviva ring me back and it gets sorted. I will stay on the phone until I have authorisation to buy my new back doors!

That sounds very promising, fingers crossed they call you back today. I'd trust the call/text over the Twitter rep as they're probably quite far removed from the claim process

Success! Aviva rang me back and said it was all sorted. Contractor sorted out for the doors, side gate contractors appointed and all I'm arguing about now is waiving our excess.

Thanks for everyone's advice.

It is the brokers responsibility to sort this out for you. Lodge a complaint with them yes it can take up to 8 weeks but they can not ignore it and have to act on it. Do it straight away. If Aviva is the insurer I'll be very surprised if they don't cooperate they are normally very good. When you lodge your complaint ring and ask them for their complaints procedure a copy and pit your complaint in writing. Presume you have a copy of your schedule of insurance with a policy number etc on? The broker is not being compliant with the FCA. They need to sort this out for you.

Glad it's sorted

Yay