2015 - 2016

Insurance

Home and contents insurance

Ms K purchased house and contents insurance through her bank. The policy required expensive items over $3,000 had to be specified and she had some specific items valued.  However, she didn’t get a valuation for a watch she bought for approximately $3,000.

She discussed the watch with the bank several times.  The bank reaffirmed to her that the watch was covered up to $3,000.

Her home was robbed and the watch stolen after which she had it valued. The watch had gone out of production and so was worth substantially more than the $3,000 purchase price.

She complained to both the insurance company and bank, seeking the difference between the watch’s current value and the $3,000 insurance payout she received. She claimed the bank failed to ensure she was adequately insured and shouldn’t have used the purchase price as a valuation.

We found that the bank had adequately disclosed the insurance policy’s terms and conditions. We listened to phone recordings where the $3,000 limit was discussed with her and determined the insurance was appropriate for her based on information available. The bank was under no obligation to ensure she obtained a valuation for the watch or that she did this prior to it being stolen.