Contents insurance claim?

How do i claim off my contents insurance?

• i have contents insurance with abbey national and my television has broken, how do i claim for my telly? helpful answers only please

• Answer:

  Can you please clarify what you mean when you say your television has broken, ie do you have any idea about what caused it to break down? If it was simply a case of mechanical breakdown (eg due to old age or "wear and tear") then I'm afraid it won't be covered and the claim would be rejected. This is a standard exclusion on home insurance policies and it would be the same for any other home insurer. On page 12 of the Abbey policy booklet, you will see that clause 3(e) excludes electrical or mechanical breakdown. How old is the TV? If it is still under guarantee or if it is still covered by an extended warranty, you could claim on that instead, as this would cover mechanical/electrical breakdown whereas home insurance doesn't. If the TV is quite old and it isn't worth much, then it may not be worth claiming on your home insurance anyway as there would probably be an excess to pay (this will be stated on your policy schedule document). In summary, whether you can claim all depends how the damage happened. If it was mechanical breakdown, then it wouldn't be covered under any contents policy. Alternatively, if it was caused by a lightning strike (and they would check the damaged TV and weather records etc make sure that is the case) then it would be covered under the policy.