Ridiculous insurance contract clauses – poorly worded?

[speedy_thrills]

I’ve just been reading my brothers insurance contract which states:

Insurance contract said:

No cover for certain events: a. There is no cover for any loss or damage caused, directly or indirectly, by the flowing events: i. war, invasion, acts of foreign enemy, hostilities (weather or no war is declared), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or unserped power or ii. radio active material or it’s use, the existence or escape of any nuclear fuel, material or waste, or iii. …etc.

So I ask, how can AMI insurance be “certain” these events will occur here in New Zealand? Do they know something we don’t?

What strange clauses have you come across in insurance contracts?

The cover I had on a motorcycle said that if I was struck by lightening I would not be covered .

[eccles]

i think they are pretty standard insurance clauses, we have the same here in the uk.

i always thought it was a bit off, the civil unrest bit, so if your car was torched like so many were in paris the other day, you dont get paid out!

[z4monster]

I noticed this week that my renewal on home insurance includes a clause which prevents claims in relations to acts of terrorism! So if some loony decides to blow themselves up next to your house/flat or triggers the bomb they are building at home, you ain't got a leg to stand on.

I really do wonder sometimes what insurance really is for. Lots of things such as CD's DVD's are not insured unless you do it specifically. If an item of electrical equipment catches fire due to a fault, you're not covered for that either. I know cause this happened to me a few years back. What's more, they can refuse the claim for fire damage as the cuase was an uninsured peril.

[victormeldrew]

z4monster said:

I noticed this week that my renewal on home insurance includes a clause which prevents claims in relations to acts of terrorism! So if some loony decides to blow themselves up next to your house/flat or triggers the bomb they are building at home, you ain't got a leg to stand on. I really do wonder sometimes what insurance really is for. Lots of things such as CD's DVD's are not insured unless you do it specifically. If an item of electrical equipment catches fire due to a fault, you're not covered for that either. I know cause this happened to me a few years back. What's more, they can refuse the claim for fire damage as the cuase was an uninsured peril.

Wonder no more. Its for relieving you of your heard earned, and making a profit for someone else.

Buy the minimum cover available, and only when its a legal requirement. You can't usually get Third Party Fire & Theft cover, or Third Party only (which is in itself a scandal as insurance companies are legally obliged to provide this), but you can make incredible savings by taking a very large voluntary excess. Lets face it, unless you total the car yourself the chances are you won't want to claim lest it "affect your no-claims", so you may as well get a saving by being up front about any self imposed excess.

Totally agree about the exclusions. Well out of order, but insurance companies are "establishment" and are allowed to get away with stuff.

There was a thread on here yesterday where someone was totally bored with their job - which was rejecting claims based on a predefined set of rules. Don't kid yourself, insurance companies are in the business of charging you as much as they can get away with, then finding absolutely any excuse not to pay out when you make a claim, and if they do have to pay out hold on to the money as long as they possibly can.

Bitter and twisted? I've probably paid out something like £50,000 over the years in various insurance policies. I've only ever had one payout, £400 for some CD's in a burglary. Go figure.

[redistributor]

victormeldrew said:

I've probably paid out something like £50,000 over the years in various insurance policies. I've only ever had one payout, £400 for some CD's in a burglary. Go figure.

That's the way insurance works my friend! Do you have life insurance on your mortgage or any other type of life insurance? If so, don't complain if you never get to claim!!

[gingerpaul]

redistributor said:

victormeldrew said: I've probably paid out something like £50,000 over the years in various insurance policies. I've only ever had one payout, £400 for some CD's in a burglary. Go figure. That's the way insurance works my friend!

Yep, couldn't agree more. The way I've come to see it recently is only insure what you either can't afford to replace and what you are obliged to insure legally. As far as I can see, this means insuring your house for fire etc, insuring your car and perhaps travel insurance in case you become ill or have an accident abroad. Are there any other important ones?

[agent006]

My BMW isn't insured for damage caused by sound waves generated by supersonic aircraft, or accidents involving aircraft whilst on an airfield.

[speedy_thrills]

agent006 said:

My BMW isn't insured for damage caused by sound waves generated by supersonic aircraft, or accidents involving aircraft whilst on an airfield.

When you renew it you should ask weather that is a common phenomenon!

[rob5678]

agent006 said:

My BMW isn't insured for damage caused by sound waves generated by supersonic aircraft, or accidents involving aircraft whilst on an airfield.

That's because you would need airside liability insurance to cover the latter, only available from the aviation specific insurance market. A relatively minor bump to an aircraft can cost thousands to rectify!

Incidentally, the war exclusion above is fairly standard. You can 'write back' this exclusion for an addition premium on some insurances, eg Aviation or Marine risks.

Insurance is a frustrating expense when you don't have to claim but bloody useful when you do. At the end of the day, insurance is a business like any other, they exist to make money.