Dishonest statement about TV damage
Mrs Letterman's insurer declined her claim, saying she made a false statement.
Mrs Letterman's insurer declined her claim, saying she made a false statement.
On 17 November 2022, Mr and Mrs Letterman* insured their household contents. Shortly after, on 21 November, Mrs Letterman made a claim, saying that her TV had been damaged on 19 November while they were moving house. However, the metadata on Mrs Letterman’s photo showed the damage was actually photographed on 14 November, before the policy began on 17 November. This led the insurer to decline the claim, cancel Mr and Mrs Letterman’s policies, and flag the claim on the Insurance Claims Register, due to Mrs Letterman’s false statement.
Mrs Letterman said she had unintentionally provided the wrong date because she was stressed. While she agreed the insurer could decline the claim, she was concerned that she was now unable to get insurance, because she had been flagged on the Insurance Claims Register. This meant she could not insure her house or vehicles.
The case manager reviewed the case, noting that the policy allowed the insurer to cancel policies if a false statement was made. To confirm this, three things were checked:
Was the statement incorrect? Mrs Letterman initially stated that the damage happened on 19 November, but the photo’s metadata showed the damage was on 14 November.
Was it intentionally misleading? Although Mrs Letterman said she was under stress and it was an honest mistake, her repeated claim that the damage occurred on her move-in date suggested she made this statement knowingly. When asked if she was “sure of the date”, Mrs Letterman had responded “yes, yes I am sure of the date yip, we were moving in that date”.
Was it relevant to the claim? The date of the damage was directly tied to whether the claim was valid, making it highly relevant.
Based on these points, the IFSO Scheme determined that Mrs Letterman deliberately misled the insurer. Therefore, the insurer was able to decline the claim, cancel the policies, and flag the account in the Insurance Claims Register.
Mr and Mrs Letterman’s complaint was not upheld.
Complaint not upheld
* Names have been changed