UKC

Hello!
A mate lost an underwater camera on holiday recently, some accidental oversight I guess, not lashing it to a buoy and it floated away in the current - we had a good look around for it in the sea but it was a bit futile.
As far as I can tell, this is a reasonable case for an insurance claim, but I've never had to make such a claim and nor has my friend. I know that it is the job of the insurance company to try to find a weakness in a claim so as not to have to pay out.
I was just wondering if there are any well-known tips/pitfalls regarding how to approach making a claim for lost (not stolen) items?
It was a Canon G10 in underwater housing so well worth making a claim for!

Thanks

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In reply to Blue Straggler:

It really depends on what cover your policy has... have a good read of the policy documents focusing on cover for accidental loss.

In general though most ins policies don't cover this (where as they would cover accidental damage)

I was recntly successful in claiming for damage to a camera that fell off my bike and was damaged, but I wouldn't have had a leg to stand on for loss if I hadn't noticed it and picked it up. Much the same as your phone isn't covered if you just leave it in a pub as opposed to dropping it inthe loo or having it stolen

In reply to balmybaldwin:



Thanks for the reply. We'll see...
It was kind of lost due to damage to a snapgate karabiner that had lost a pin in the spring bit and thus not remained closed - we have that karabiner, might help with a claim I suppose...

In reply to Blue Straggler:


Well, nothing to loose on travel insurance, its not like you get ncb

In reply to Blue Straggler: A few years ago now (maybe 4) we claimed for lost prescription sunglasses. Easy done, sit down, take them off, get up and walk away without them, by the time we realised and went back it was needle in a haystack scenario!
Anyway, we contacted the insurance company, it was a BMC policy. They told us to report the loss to the local police, we did this much to the annoyance of the police officer! Once home we submitted the report and the claim was processed. We received something in the region of 50 - 60% of the value of the glasses as a result so well worth it.
Hope that's helpful.

In reply to Blue Straggler: The important thing is to read the small print and make sure you comply. Many have a policy saying: "You must contact us within xxx days" and "You must obtain a police report".

In reply to Blue Straggler:

never claimed myself, but have been part of the process for clients making claims. as a trip provider, claims can be checked with you by the insurance company so getting verification from any operator your mate was with (boat, dive company, rental etc) helps.
any photos from the day also help.

i have noticed tho that dropping stuff or simply loosing it can be seen as negligence and therefore not covered. stolen, lost due to accident etc are often ok tho.

true, its somewhat up to the insurance co to disprove it, but they may take the easier path of a simple call to the trip provider, scare them with talk of 'giving fraudulent information' and say no.

in your mates case, not lashing it to a buoy wont look good, but if you can show there was no secure way of doing or whatever you may have a case. be warned tho that may come back on the trip provider (unlikely for a small claim of a camera, but you never know).
it will help if an image shows you tried to clip it in, rather than just a camera with no means of doing so (yes, they bring shit like that up if they want to).

what id do is get in touch with the trip provider to arrange the evidence that 'all due care was taken' and submit the claim with them onside.

ps, even if the 'trip provider' was just a mate with a boat or whatever show there was some sort of agreed relationship so its square with the insurance co if they check up on it. essentially you want it to cost more to investigate than to just pay the claim.

Thanks for these additional tips. It is not sounding too hopeful but we'll give it a go.

In reply to Blue Straggler:
I'd just tell them it got loose and floated away and despite efforts to retrieve it you lost it. It's important to tell them you know where you lost it but couldn't find it.

In reply to balmybaldwin:
Be warned. Insurance companies process these claims in coordination with each other, so it's perfectly possible to claim under travel insurance and your home insurance premium go up next year.

In reply to Blue Straggler: Surely you just fill out the form and give an accurate account of how you lost it. If it's covered, they'll pay up, otherwise they won't. Or are you wanting to find out how to commit fraud?

In reply to Ander:

Ander, this is done to see if there is dual insurance in place... i,e, you might have all risks cover on a laptop on your HH policy, and claim for it on a travel policy (that also covers it) in which case both insurers are liable to pay out to cover part of the loss. This is normally done via a recovery. - In which case you might have a small change to your premium.

the other reason for doing this is to verify that you haven't claimed twice for the same item - once on your HH policy, once on the travel policy - i.e. fraud.

You may also be asked to provide details of your mortgage account - I refused and asked them to call me if they really needed this. Again this is to check against fraud indicators - those in arrears tend to make a lot more fraudulent insurance claims

In reply to fedupandfat:

Well nobody else seems to have such difficulty interpreting the OP.
Yes we will fill out the form. No I don't want to commit fraud.

UKC forum at its best. Well done