MOT expired 6 days before van break in

[scottydoesntknow]

My fault entirely. Didn’t realise MOT was due and was away on holiday.

Van was broken into and badly damaged 6 days after the MOT expiry.

Insurers now saying I’m not covered for the damage.

£2k of tools gone and van looks to be written off.

Anything I can do about this?

[scottydoesntknow]

NIG the underwriter says not covered. Broker Lloyds cautiously said there may be 14 days grace. Waiting on a call back.

Edited by scottydoesntknow on Friday 29th November 13:03

[scottydoesntknow]

Thanks. I’ve just found this thread.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[scottydoesntknow]

Thesprucegoose said:

they can apply small variances but not withold full payout, the FO is clear on this, even if in the contract terms.

Here’s hoping. I’ve had my gear nicked as well as my ability to earn a living. Appreciate the reply,

[scottydoesntknow]

Thanks, I’ve sent him a PM

[scottydoesntknow]

Lloyd’s are saying no MOT no insurance. Waiting on confirmation from underwriter.

[scottydoesntknow]

rigga said:

Pretty sure having no mot does not invalidate insurance, but look at the contract closely.

All reasonable precautions.

[scottydoesntknow]

On the street outside my home.

[scottydoesntknow]

SS2. said:

The insurer can include a variety of conditions within their policy documentation, but it doesn't automatically follow that liabilities can be dodged should certain conditions not be satisfied.

They seem very keen to dodge this one.

[scottydoesntknow]

Durzel said:

Can’t imagine FO finding in favour of an insco disclaiming full liability for a claim for an MOT less than a week expired (or at all, really)

Just spoken with them (thanks SS2), they didn’t sound too positive about it.

[scottydoesntknow]

AndyDRZ said:

Were you on holiday from before the MOT ran out?

If so, how do you know that it was broken into after the MOT ran out? You were not there... could have been anytime

The neighbour might have been confused when they said "it happened on Monday" they might have meant the Monday before. Just before the MOT ran out.

A neighbour rang me. I reported it to the police so the crime is logged and dated. Assumed it was a typical Transit tibbe no damage break in. Wasn’t until I got back that I saw 5 doors crowbarred.

[scottydoesntknow]

Sheepshanks said:

Oh. Forget that then - I was hoping you were going to say it was off the road.

Is it normal to leave £K's of tools in a van parked on the road - especially when you're away? I thought the drill (no pun intended) was stuff was removed overnight.

Point taken. Busy terraced residential street with CCTV. Parked under a lamppost. Deadlocks, alarm, van vault. I haven’t really got anywhere else to put stuff. Small 1 bed flat. They did 6 vans that I know of over the weekend.

[scottydoesntknow]

SS2. said:

In what respect were they 'not too positive' ?

Because it’s stipulated in the T&C’s

Durzel said:

They may well try and get out of it based on their T&Cs, but I can’t see how the ombudsman wouldn’t decide that it’s unreasonable and not in any way proximate to the particulars of the claim.

You may end up having to fight it though, unfortunately, as you are probably strictly speaking in breach of the terms.

Waiting on a call back from the underwriter. I think procedure is official complaint. Wait for official response and then try the ombudsman.

[scottydoesntknow]

Weekendrebuild said:

Was it stolen during day time? As tools usually aren’t covered if left in vehicles over night ?

It was evening. The tools weren’t covered anyway. It’s the damage to the van I’m trying to claim for. 5 doors crowbarred open. It’s a £4k Transit. It’s a write off.

[scottydoesntknow]

SS2. said:

Section 4 might be worth a read.

Excellent, thankyou.

[scottydoesntknow]

Hoping for a decent outcome. I’ve emailed them officially to complain and sent them the link that SS2 kindly provided. They’ve said they’ll review it and come back to me.

[scottydoesntknow]

markcoznottz said:

Did you have slam locks?

Deadlocks yes.

[scottydoesntknow]

Durzel said:

Yeah definitely a good idea to get embroiled in insurance fraud when you’ve already made conflicting representations on recorded phone calls.

Yes, I’m trying to make a legitimate claim, not commit fraud.

[scottydoesntknow]

Small update on this. I emailed the underwriters outlining the advice given here and they said they’d look into it. I chased them again today and whilst they say they’re still investigating the MOT issue they will send an engineer out to assess the damage. An improvement of the initial flat out refusal.

[scottydoesntknow]

Yes, I think you’re right. That’s fair enough re. the value - my cock up at the end of the day. At this point anything better than spares or repairs on eBay is a result.