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Home/Law/You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder’s claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion.

You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder’s claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion.

The failure of the policyholder to notify the insurer that he rented out the property on a short-term basis could provide grounds for rejecting the claim for property damage. The justification could be found on the grounds that the policyholder gave misleading facts regarding the incident. Relative to this statement, Bussani says it is important for policyholders to supply insurers with all material facts relating to a claim honestly and diligently. This statement draws credence from the breach of pre-contractual information duty, which the Chartered Insurance Institute says takes two forms:

  • Innocent or fraudulent misrepresentation
  • Non-disclosure of risks, which may also be innocently or fraudulently done.

The first precondition suggests that innocent and fraudulent misrepresentation could provide grounds for declaring a breach of contract. The failure to disclose that the property was being rented out could be deemed to be a material fact that amounts to a breach of contract under the principle of fraudulent misrepresentation of facts. This piece of information would have been relevant to the execution of the contract because it could either have caused the insurer not to enter into the insurance contract in the first place or prompted them to choose different terms and conditions for doing so, such as charging higher premiums.

To prove a case for fraudulent misrepresentation of facts, the law allocates the burden of proof on the insurer to prove that the insured acted carelessly or deliberately when giving information. This burden of proof is demonstrable in two cases involving Southern Rock Insurance Co Ltd v. Hafeez (2017) and Ageas Insurance Ltd v. Stoodley (2019), where it was held that the failure to give factual data did not mean that such actions were deliberate or reckless. Therefore, to reject the claim, the insurance company has to prove that the policyholder’s actions were deliberate and reckless. In this regard, the insurer could argue that the claimant deliberately misled them to believe that they were the sole residents of the property while, in reality, it was being rented out to other people. This ground alone is sufficient to void the claim for property damage.

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Academic.Tips. (2022) 'You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion'. 9 October.

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Academic.Tips. (2022, October 9). You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion. https://academic.tips/question/you-are-a-claims-handler-for-an-insurer-specialising-in-household-insurance-one-of-the-policyholders-has-home-insurance-which-includes-buildings-and-contents-cover-when-the-insurance-policy-was-inc-3/

References

Academic.Tips. 2022. "You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion." October 9, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/you-are-a-claims-handler-for-an-insurer-specialising-in-household-insurance-one-of-the-policyholders-has-home-insurance-which-includes-buildings-and-contents-cover-when-the-insurance-policy-was-inc-3/.

1. Academic.Tips. "You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion." October 9, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/you-are-a-claims-handler-for-an-insurer-specialising-in-household-insurance-one-of-the-policyholders-has-home-insurance-which-includes-buildings-and-contents-cover-when-the-insurance-policy-was-inc-3/.


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Academic.Tips. "You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion." October 9, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/you-are-a-claims-handler-for-an-insurer-specialising-in-household-insurance-one-of-the-policyholders-has-home-insurance-which-includes-buildings-and-contents-cover-when-the-insurance-policy-was-inc-3/.

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"You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Discuss the possible effects of the short-term lets on the policyholder's claim for the property damage. Refer to one statute in support of your discussion." Academic.Tips, 9 Oct. 2022, academic.tips/question/you-are-a-claims-handler-for-an-insurer-specialising-in-household-insurance-one-of-the-policyholders-has-home-insurance-which-includes-buildings-and-contents-cover-when-the-insurance-policy-was-inc-3/.

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You are a claims handler for an insurer specialising in household insurance. One of the policyholders has home insurance, which includes buildings and contents cover. When the insurance policy was incepted the policyholder confirmed the property was their permanent residence. The policyholder notifies you of a claim for water damage to the property and personal possessions. Whilst investigating the claim, you discover the following: The policyholder rents out the property on short-term lets, during which they temporarily vacate the property. However, the policyholder has never informed the insurer of this. The personal possessions are owned by a guest who had rented the property for the weekend. The policyholder has received a criminal conviction for burglary, although this conviction occurred after the inception of the policy. Explain, with justification, whether the claim for the personal possessions will be settled.
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