Compare car insurance deals
Check Which? insurance ratings and compare deals using the service provided by Confused.com
Get a quoteBy clicking a retailer link you consent to third-party cookies that track your onward journey. This enables W? to receive an affiliate commission if you make a purchase, which supports our mission to be the UK's consumer champion.
What sort of house insurance claim is most regularly declined?
We take a look at the trickiest claims, and how to give your claim the maximum
chance of success
Home insurance is one product you'd rather you never have to use. But if you do make a claim, you need it to succeed.
On paper, your policy might cover you for a range of incidents such as flooding, subsidence, fire, extreme weather, theft and water damage.
Yet even when an incident is covered, an insurer might reject the claim.
As part of our reviews of the best and worst home insurance providers, we spoke to 1,700 customers who had made a claim in the last two years.
One in three (30%) reported that they are having to chase their provider to get an update on their claim or to help move along the process, and 29% said the process was taking a lot longer than they expected
Here we examine why claims fail, and what you can do about it.
Which claims are most likely to be declined?
Storm damage cover comes in at number one for the most declined home insurance claims, with 9% of extreme weather claims rejected.
These types of claims can be complex to evaluate. With some claims, insurers have been known in some cases to dispute whether a 'storm' even took place based on whether reported windspeeds met their criteria for a 'storm' in their small print.
At the other end of the scale, the least commonly rejected type of claim was home emergency (incidents requiring an immediate response such as emergency repairs to the heating, plumbing systems). Only 1% of these claims were rejected.
Most declined types of claims
| Claim | Rejected |
|---|---|
| Damage caused by high winds, heavy rain, or hail | 9% |
| Damage caused by flooding due to bad weather | 8% |
| Fire damage | 8% |
Why do claims get declined?
Data from the Financial Conduct Authority revealed in late 2021, only three-quarters (77%) of claims made on combined buildings and contents policies were accepted.
The most common reasons why this happens are:
- Incorrect information when reporting your damage
- A lack of care at the time of the incident
- Wrong details in your insurance application ie likelihood of flooding or water damage
- Not following the claims process properly
- You are not covered for the damage you are applying for
The most common kind of claim, according to the claimants in our survey, is accidental damage.
This made up 19% of claims and whilst 96% of policies offered this cover, it is usually as an add-on and can be tempting to cut to get a cheaper policy.
- Find out more: making a home insurance claim
How to challenge your insurer
If you are unhappy with the answer from your insurer all is not lost.
You can challenge your insurer's decision. However, it is vital that you are confident you have supplied accurate and detailed information and that your insurer is being unfair.
Ask to speak to your insurer’s complaints department and find out what their policy is. Complaining in writing is the best way as it leaves you with a paper trail and shows the company you want this matter dealt with formally.
They will have eight weeks to respond to your complaint but hopefully you will hear back sooner than that.
If you do not hear back or are unsatisfied with their decision you can complain about your insurance provider to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Which insurers are best for claims?
We asked survey respondents to give their home insurer a claims score, based on their experience of their latest claims.
Coming out top with a claims score of 80% was NFU Mutual, which also happens to be our only Which? Recommended Provider of home insurance.
You can read more about NFU Mutual, which only sells direct and covers certain rural areas of the country, in our NFU Mutual home insurance review.
The next three insurers by claims score was Direct Line (78%), Tesco Bank (76%) and LV (74%).
Claims are only one element of customer service - find our complete service and policy scores in our reviews of the best and worst home insurance.
Which? Limited is registered in England and Wales to 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF, company number 00677665 and is an Introducer Appointed Representative of the following: 1. Inspop.com Ltd for the introduction of non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN 610689). Inspop.com Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide advice and arrange non-investment motor, home, travel and pet insurance products (FRN310635) and is registered in England and Wales to Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, South Wales, CF10 3AL, company number 03857130. Confused.com is a trading name of Inspop.com Ltd. 2. LifeSearch Partners Limited (FRN 656479), for the introduction of Pure Protection Contracts, who are authorised and regulated by the FCA to provide advice and arrange Pure Protection Contracts. LifeSearch Partners Ltd is registered in England and Wales to 3000a Parkway, Whiteley, Hampshire, PO15 7FX, company number 03412386. We do not make, nor do we seek to make, any recommendations on financial products or services that are regulated by the FCA, as we’re not regulated or authorised by the FCA to advise you in this way. In some cases, however, we have included links to regulated brands or providers with whom we have a commercial relationship and, if you choose to, you can buy a product from our commercial partners. If you go ahead and buy a product using our link, we will receive a commission to help fund our not-for-profit mission and our campaigns work as a champion for the UK consumer.
