crusadr direct insurance !!!!!HELP!!!!!

[michael_374300442]

can any kind person help us.my wife saved up for a brand new charima caravan with end bunk a 57 model.then a yar last november when the caravan was months old , we sited the caravan on a site told the insurance company they said as long as it had cctv and a security bar to let vehicles in out they were happy anyway cut a long story short. i ended up contrating lymphoma in my groin and it was cancerous and very aggressive anyway i was hospitalised straight away. while i was in hospital my wife was dealing with our affairs and the site wanted their fees for the year roughly 2,800 pounds that there was no way my wife could afford because i was,nt working and she is unable to drive o she asked her nephew would he take the caravan from th site as there was noway she could leave it there no longer so he kindly agreed to take it to his home and parked the caravan ight out side his home as where we live theres alot of vandalism and thefts where my wifes nephew lived was more safe and isolated then our caravan was stolen while i was still in hospital and crusader sent out an assessor and turned down ourclaim saying that it was because my wife did not notified she moved the caravan they would not pay us a penny we had bulldog wheel locks on the wheels and one on the hitchlock.my wife and i are devastated the girls can,t go on holidays now also the caravan was fully loaded with childrens bikes sleeping bags barbecue etc all new and awning we were wondering are they aloud to do this .my wife did not have time to read the policy i was the one who dealt with finances.we tried to appeal telling them about my illness and exactly what happened they don,t want to know we had done everything correct just did not tell them we moved it........please could any one help us...thankyou mike

 

[Robtel]

Mike,

Sorry to hear about all your troubles, when serious illness strikes other matters tend to get forgotten. It is obvious that your insurance company are using the small print to get out of paying up. In all probability they are legally entitled to do this as judging from your posting you did not follow the instructions in the small print. Whist they may be legally correct that does not mean that they have acted in a considerate manner. If they have turned down all your appeals I'm sure there is an independent ombudsmans service you can turn to and challenge their decision,its worth considering although I wouldn't be too hopeful myself.

Some times you see stories in some newspapers where they have taken up a case on a reader's behalf, or some radio stations have a legal magazine type programme,a Watchdog t.v. programme type of thing. The thought of some negative publicity just might make your insurance company change their mind.

Maybe its a pity you were not more econonmical with the truth when you informed the company of the theft. Perhaps you were not keeping your van at your nephew's house, he had maybe borrowed it and was loading it up to use for a holiday that very day when someone stole it when his back was turned!!

I hope your luck changes for the better. Take care.

Robert

 

[gavin_5121842]

First of all Micheal sorry to hear about your illness. This is the last thing you need right now. I had High Grade non Hodgeskins Lymphoma myself 10 years ago whilst i was in the Army. I was in hospital for 6 months but i was lucky to be in the Army at the time sas i was well looked after and was on full pay.

I think Rob is pretty much spot on. I you can get some sort of adverse publicity against the company it just might make them re-think their position.

In the meantime good luck with the treatment. It's a hard slog but you must keep a positive attitude,

Gavin.

 

[chrissie2]

Michael, I'm sorry to hear about your dreadful situation - bad things never seem to come singly, do they?

It may only be a small help, but is there a possiblity that the contents might be covered on your household insurance? Just to be able to replace the bikes and stuff would be some consolation to the familiy. It would definitely be worth checking your household policy to see if there is any cover for items temporarily removed from the house.

Good luck for your recovery, and I hope you get some satisfaction from your insurers in the end.

 

[michael_374300442]

Michael, I'm sorry to hear about your dreadful situation - bad things never seem to come singly, do they?

It may only be a small help, but is there a possiblity that the contents might be covered on your household insurance? Just to be able to replace the bikes and stuff would be some consolation to the familiy. It would definitely be worth checking your household policy to see if there is any cover for items temporarily removed from the house.

Good luck for your recovery, and I hope you get some satisfaction from your insurers in the end.

Thankyou everybody for your support and kindness yes i appreciate all your help.yes i might consider going down that route theres definately nothing to loose.thankyou for your help.....

 

[sylv_374228951]

Michael, I'm sorry to hear about your dreadful situation - bad things never seem to come singly, do they?

It may only be a small help, but is there a possiblity that the contents might be covered on your household insurance? Just to be able to replace the bikes and stuff would be some consolation to the familiy. It would definitely be worth checking your household policy to see if there is any cover for items temporarily removed from the house.

Good luck for your recovery, and I hope you get some satisfaction from your insurers in the end.

I am so sorry to hear about your problems with Crusader. However, as someone who has worked in the caravan insurance industry I must point out that one of the biggest frustrations we had was that customers would simply not read their paperwork. If your insurance was taken out on the basis that the caravan was in a secure storage with CCTV and other bits and bobs, the chances are you were getting some sort of discount. Your insurance would have been on this basis so by moving the caravan without telling the insurers, you are not holding up your side of the bargain of keeping the van in a secure place. As caravan theft is such a problem nowadays, storage requirements are usually pretty specific and most paperwork will now clearly say where you can and can't store a van. Obviously you were in a nightmare situation and didn't have an awful lot of choice, but this isn't a case of the insurers just not paying on a tiny technicality, but a fairly major failure to comply with the policy and as such, its not that fair to set out give the company bad publicity as posters here suggest. However, it is always worth talking to the Ombudsman as they tend to be pretty consumer-friendly and may be able to suggest something. I really hope you are on the road to recovery and that you have a positive resolution to the situation.

 

[sylv_374228951]

I am so sorry to hear about your problems with Crusader. However, as someone who has worked in the caravan insurance industry I must point out that one of the biggest frustrations we had was that customers would simply not read their paperwork. If your insurance was taken out on the basis that the caravan was in a secure storage with CCTV and other bits and bobs, the chances are you were getting some sort of discount. Your insurance would have been on this basis so by moving the caravan without telling the insurers, you are not holding up your side of the bargain of keeping the van in a secure place. As caravan theft is such a problem nowadays, storage requirements are usually pretty specific and most paperwork will now clearly say where you can and can't store a van. Obviously you were in a nightmare situation and didn't have an awful lot of choice, but this isn't a case of the insurers just not paying on a tiny technicality, but a fairly major failure to comply with the policy and as such, its not that fair to set out give the company bad publicity as posters here suggest. However, it is always worth talking to the Ombudsman as they tend to be pretty consumer-friendly and may be able to suggest something. I really hope you are on the road to recovery and that you have a positive resolution to the situation.

 

[HotHouse]

My suggestion would be to find out firstly whether Crusader would have provided cover, if you had told them that the caravan was being moved. The easiest way to do this is to ask them to provide a quotation, for a similar situation.

If they will provide cover, albeit at a higher premium, then, bearing in mind your illness, the Insurance Ombudsman may have some sympathy for your case. There have been similar cases where they have persuaded the insurance company to pay up, less any additional premium that would have been charged.

If Crusader flatly refuse to insure any caravan in that location, then this approach unfortunately won't work.